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PagesPublic FigureWriterThe Upside Down World
This is really good. How these idiots don't understand that by relating to the abuser rather than the abused, they're really telling on themselves is beyond me. And don't even get me started on the disordered relationship with sin that a shocking number of teachers openly proclaim. Christian leaders who make a show of wallowing in their tendency towards sin are basically telling the world that the work of Jesus in their life is some small, ineffectual thing that doesn't funda...mentally change their desires, their thinking and their way of being in the world. Like yeah, we all sin, but if you're just a slip or a misjudgment away from engaging in serious sin, then the work of Jesus is not doing what it's supposed to do in your life and you have no business being in ministry.
People don't need spiritual leaders to relate to the control that sin has over them; the whole wide world can do that. What people need from us is a demonstration that a walk with Jesus fundamentally changes our relationship with sin such that we no longer particularly even desire sin. Not that we have to be perfect, but it really shouldn't be a heavy lift for anyone in ministry to avoid engaging in serious sin. If it is, they aren't ready for their position and need to devote themselves to "working out their salvation with fear and trembling" until avoiding serious sin is no longer a significant challenge. IJS
For my fellow bible geeks. You actually see this kind of re-interpretation of well known ancient literature quite a lot in the Torah. The plot of the story of Moses plays off a well-known myth of the era as well, for example. I've heard people claim that the Jews just stole other culture's stories, but if you actually look at what they did, they were highly creative and skilled thinkers and storytellers.
Anyways, I love this stuff and wanted to pass it on for any of y'all who share my dorkiness. 😘
"Every society has myths and legends about gods having children with humans who become epic heroes and legendary kings. Many of us in the West are familiar with... the exploits of Hercules, Achilles, and Perseus, and the Classical versions of their tales have been told and retold for well over two thousand years. However, many famous Classical stories are merely reimagined from earlier Near Eastern ones. There was a vast corpus of heroic literature available from Babylon to Egypt, including such tales as the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the ancient Israelites would have likely known these stories.
Readers of the Bible will be quick to point out the obvious problems with the Israelites’ enjoying the epic tales of demigods’ slaying monsters—they glorify a pagan culture filled with a slew of gods and goddesses far removed from the one true holy God of Israel. And just as my eighth grade Bible teacher thought my deep love of Star Wars was going to lead me into witchcraft one day, the religious leaders of ancient Israel likely feared the stories of Gilgamesh and other demigods would lead the people into idolatry. Unlike my teacher, however, the leaders of Israel did not threaten school detention. Instead, they chose a much more diplomatic solution to the Israelites’ love of stories about epic heroes. They gave an orthodox explanation for them and wove them into the context of their own narrative.
Instead of denying the existence of famous heroes altogether, the author labels them “the fallen ones” and all but blames them for the utter depravity that fell upon the world and necessitated the flood. As to how they corrupted the world we can only guess, but the concept of “making a name for oneself” is clearly at odds with the worldview found within the pages of the Bible, specifically the Book of Genesis, and calls to mind the human pride and wickedness that began in the Garden of Eden."
