DUMB ASS [rated PG 13]
https://youtu.be/wFzHD9l8fN4
Dumb ass
ON VIDEO-
.The real Jesus
.Death row
.The unknown terror attack
.Spiritual warfare
.Did Jesus say other things not in the bible?
.Organic church
.ISIS
.ISLAM
.Media script- not news
.Sanders- Clinton- Trump
.Pops goes shopping
PAST POSTS [verses below]
HEBREWS 1-3 The next few weeks I’ll be teaching from an old commentary
I wrote a few years back [2007-8]- The notes at the bottom of the chapters- and
post- are new [as well as the videos].
NEW NOTE- In the study of the bible- there are debates about who wrote
the letters of the New Testament.
In the field of higher criticism- it gets a bit silly at times.
I just finished an on line course from a respected scholar out of Yale
university.
He taught from the higher criticism perspective- I enjoyed the course-
though I did not agree with lots of his conclusions.
At one point he questioned whether Paul wrote the middle chapter of one
of the letters attributed to Paul.
Yet he did believe the first- and last chapters were by Paul.
For the most part- we believe that the letters in the bible- that say
in them ‘written by Paul’ are from Paul [or Peter, James, Etc.].
But- Hebrews leaves the authors name out- so some debate who wrote it.
Tertullian- an early church father [2/3rd century]
attributed it to Barnabus- Paul’s companion that we read about in the book of
Acts-
For about 1500 years- till the time of the Reformation- most Christian
scholars attributed it to Paul.
Hebrews is written in a high form of Greek [which is another way we
determine who wrote the letters- tough this is not always accurate.
Many say John the apostle did not write Revelation- because the form of
Greek used is much lower than the other writings of John- yet- there is
internal witness that John [the apostle] wrote it.
In John’s writings [gospel- 1st, 2nd and 3rd
John] he speaks about Jesus as the Word [Logos] and this theme is seen in
Revelation too].
So- while we don’t know for sure- I personally stick with the
authorship of Paul the apostle.
INTRODUCTION:
I have been wanting to overview this book for
a long time. I believe there are a lot of misconceptions from Hebrews. Often
time’s modern translations take older books of the Bible and want to make them
relevant for our day. This can be both good and bad.
I like the message Bible, but for in depth
study it doesn’t really work. There are certain things that must be interpreted
in context of the time and place when
the book was written. Hebrews is one of the most important New Testament books
to ‘read in context’. I won’t go over every verse in this short commentary, I
will hit the high points of various chapters and try to show you what I mean by
‘reading it in context’.
[parts]
Some believe that Homer never
actually wrote the poems- but that he told the stories- like Oral Tradition-
and they were later written down by others.
Sort of like the classic-
Paradise Lost- by John Milton. Milton was blind- and told the story to his
daughters [oral tradition] and the actual work was penned by those who heard
it.
Jesus himself used this method-
he never wrote a book- or letter in the New Testament- yet the gospels were compiled
by his men after his death.
We read about this when Luke [who
I mentioned above] gives the reason for his documenting stuff in the book of
Acts [read Acts chapter one].
Luke also wrote his gospel a few
years after the death and resurrection of Christ.
So- some believe the same thing
happened with Homer- those who heard him tell the story multiple times- simply
put it together later on.
Most scholars believe that Homer
did indeed write the poems- and that the famous Trojan War was a real historical
event.
Last year- when in North Bergen-
my atheist friend Daniel said he watched a PBS show- and he said ‘even a priest
said the bible was Myth’.
I explained to Daniel that when
the more liberal scholars use this term [like in the writings of Bultman] that
they do not mean ‘fake’- like Greek Mythology.
But they mean that some of the
stories in the gospels might be a compilation of the many Oral teachings of
Jesus- and they were put together as one story [some think the Sermon on the
Mount was actually multiple teachings Jesus did- and they were compiled into
one event].
Now- when I explained this to
Daniel- he said ‘see- even you believe it was Myth’.
I told Daniel that no- I do not
hold to this theory [not 100%] but that I was simply telling him that even
those who use the term Myth- when talking about Theology- they do not mean
Myth- as in fake.
So- I find it interesting that
both the New testament- and Homers poems- got the same scrutiny.
In these poems we do indeed see
the condition of man- which Homer depicts as one of constant war- not peace.
James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and
cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
James 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye
may consume it upon your lusts.
Homers poems are considered by
some to be the beginning of the great works of Western literature- of which
there are many.
The great writer C.S. Lewis- who rejected
Christianity for many years- later
[parts]
JAMES 1
https://ccoutreach87.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/5-28-15-james-intro-chapter-1.zip
Try and watch this video- I cover lots of stuff
that place this letter in context for this study. [ Read acts 10,11,15,
Galatians 1-2]
Intro-
This letter was written by James- the brother of
Jesus.
He was one of the main church leaders at the
church in Jerusalem- we read about him in Acts chapter 15.
This [Acts 15] was the first church council in
the history of Christianity.
I already taught the book of Romans written by
the apostle Paul.
And as we read the New Testament in context- we
can see the reason why James penned this letter- and addressed it to Jewish
believers.
Paul was the most influential missionary in the
early church- he established most of the gentile churches we read about in the
bible [Rome being the exception].
He also wrote most of the letters that make up
our New Testament.
His main teaching was Justification by faith.
There was a division we read about in the bible-
between some of the Jewish believers at Jerusalem- and the churches Paul was
planting [the church council mentioned above- was convened over this issue].
This division was based on the teaching of Paul-
and some Jewish believers in Jerusalem accused Paul of rejecting the Mosaic
Law.
Paul defended himself in the letters of the New
Testament [Romans/Galatians] and even talks about his visits to the leaders at
the church in Jerusalem.
Now- in this context- it seems fitting for James-
the main church leader of the Jewish brothers- to ‘set the record straight’.
And to write his own letter- showing the
importance of GOOD WORKS- and even saying ‘see how a man is justified/saved by
works- and not by faith alone’.
The higher critics of Christianity [who you have
heard me talk about in recent videos] will teach that James and Paul ‘taught
different theologies’.
I do not
agree with them.
But- our bibles are an early collection of the
Real Time things that were taking place in the early church.
At the time these men were writing these letters-
they were not writing them as a complete canon [book] - but were writing them
as you or I would write a letter to another person.
In the wisdom of God- I think it is possible for
these men to have seen different aspects of the manifold wisdom of God- and
maybe they were not fully seeing the other writer’s point of view.
To me- this would not be a criticism of the canon
of scripture- but it would show us that God used these men- thru their
experiences- and yes- even disagreements- to write the letters that make up our
bibles-
And in time- they would indeed become the
official teaching of the church-
Embracing a broad range of Divine Revelation-
that in the end- does NOT CONTRADICT itself- but instead makes a complete work-
which we call the bible.
This letter is short- and packed with short
verses of great wisdom.
It is the only New Testament letter that falls
into the category of Wisdom Literature-
Meaning a particular genre’ of writing- like
Proverbs in the Old Testament.
Because of this- I am going to post each chapter
of the letter during this teaching- for those of you who have never read the
bible all the way thru-
I want to challenge you to read these short
chapters over the next few weeks.
I will comment and add historical stuff in this
teaching- like I did in the other recent studies.
But most of all- read each chapter for yourself-
ask God to give you wisdom- and apply the instruction of this letter to your
life.
It is a very practical- straight forward teaching
that comes to us from the brother of Jesus himself.
As I have been commenting on the other writings
that did not make it into our bibles- like the Gnostic gospels-
One of the reasons these extra biblical writings
have so much appeal-
Is because they claim to have other teachings-
from/about Jesus- that are not in the bible.
For those of us who reject these other writings-
as canon-
The letter of James kind of fills the void of ‘we
want to know more about what Jesus taught’.
This would be the letter to read- because James
grew up with Jesus- in the same home.
He was the oldest sibling of the Holy Family-
And he was not a follower of Jesus until after
the resurrection of Christ.
He was one of the witnesses Jesus appeared to
after his resurrection [Paul told us this in Corinthians].
So- if anyone has any ‘secret insight’ into the
other stuff Jesus taught- it would be James.
END
NOTES-ACTS 10,11,15.
GALATIANS 1,2.
[parts]
SURPISE
ENCOUNTER- AGAIN.
https://youtu.be/py4415UY8yY John [DD donuts]
FRIDAY NIGHT
Just got back from the George
Washington bridge walk [as I type].
It was funny- I got to the car and made
a few wrong turns [lots of blocked streets and stuff].
And I ‘panicked’ like ‘I hope I don’t
get lost’!
Lost?
From where?
I’m living in the car for heaven’s
sake.
See- you can even get attached to a
parking lot!
Ok- I thought it strange to see all the
suicide warning signs on the bridge- they are new.
I talked about it on the video.
This might be the longest video I ever
made- almost an hour.
But you see some good footage of
walking back and forth from N.J. to NYC.
Hope you enjoy it.
ON VIDEO-
.Foundation stones
.Why Bishops?
.Gnostics and Docetism
.Dads boat
.GOV Christie and hot dogs
.Restore the paths
.Isaiah and John
.Memories of a kid- train tunnel
.Robert Moses to blame?
.Mayor LaGuardia
.The argument for Rome
.Church fathers
.Mystics
.Suicide signs
.Apostolic succession
.What church is the ‘true church’?
.Most amazing intellectual discourse
ever? Only if you don’t hear [have to watch to get it- sorry]
.Bedrock
.I am homeless- can you spare a 5?
NOTE- I made the video- and typed the
notes sitting in my car at Hudson County Park [in the rain]
Ill upload tomorrow at Dunkin Donuts
[or somewhere else].
What big financial budget was needed
for this?
None.
One of the things I want my minister
friends to see- is it’s not about money.
Sure- it would be easier to be at my
home office- or even a home.
But you don’t need it- you can use the
things that you have.
This has been one of my ‘pet peeves’ for
many years.
I want you to see how simple all of
this is- the friends you see [both in Texas and here] are just friends I made
along the way.
The kingdom is about relationships- and
sharing with one another- even Marie quoted Jesus- and as far as I know she’s
not a Christian.
So- maybe this whole unplanned
experience was God’s will.
To be honest- I never know- at least at
the start.
Be spontaneous- I left Texas on Sunday-
because I heard the song ‘Head East’ [or group?]
So yes- we all have limited time on the
planet.
Don’t live ‘too safe’ or you won’t
live- at all.
FRIDAY NIGHT- PARKING LOT-
Just finished the GW bridge walk a few
hours ago- and being it might be the last night sleeping in the car, I figured
I’d do a video for a few minutes.
This will probably be the last time
you’ll be able to see- real time- me living in the car like this.
But- like they say ‘you never know’.
[parts]
VERSES-
13 Then certain
of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had
evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus,
saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there
were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the
evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the
man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and
prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Acts 19
15 Which
have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam
the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;
16 But was
rebuked for his iniquity: the dumb ass speaking with man's voice forbad the
madness of the prophet.
2nd Peter 2
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of
darkness. Lk:11
And another
angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the
cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for
thee to reap; for the
harvest of the earth is ripe. Rev. 14:15
Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength,
that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word. Ps.103:20
Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?
He is antichrist, that
denieth the Father and the Son. 1st Jn. 2:22
And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and
this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should
come; and even now already is it in the world. 1st Jn. 4:3
30 And many
other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not
written in this book:
31 But these
are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Jn. 20
And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this
proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have
heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country. Lk. 4:23
facebook.com/john.chiarello.5
Note- Please do me a favor, those who read/like the posts-
re-post them on other sites as well as the site you read them on. I deal with
issues at times that it would be beneficial for some of you to download and
save the file from the Word Press link. This creates a permanent record. The
on-line videos are only good if sites are not hacked- which has happened in the
past. Thanks- John.#
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