#I think 'are you normal about john gaius' is going to have to be my litmus test for if I care about anyone's opinion on tlt in the least | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thewhitefluffyhat · 1 year

Text

I’m not at all a religious person, so there’s a lot to Harrow and John’s relationship that goes way over my head.

But when I’m thinking about what happens at the end of Nona the Ninth, I keep finding myself drawn to this one little interaction the two have right before Harrow starts plotting soup murders:

You stared, feeling mildly drunk and unutterably pitiful, at your repeatedly uneaten biscuit. Teacher said quietly, “You must think us all a depraved set of immortal criminals.” You said nothing. He pressed, “Harrow, do something normal. Learn how to make a meal. Read a book. Go ahead and prepare - our lives revolve around us all preparing... but take the time to rest. Have you slept lately?” It was the first time you realized God could not understand you.

Harrow the Ninth, p228

Because it's not just that John couldn't understand Harrow. At the end of the day, Harrow isn't honestly that mysterious and inscrutable, her fears and desires are very painfully human underneath the mask of her robes and face paint. And sure, while there are some key parts of Harrow's psyche that she normally keeps deathly secret, she ultimately tells John about those aspects of herself too.

And yet, even Palamedes understood Harrow better than John, and that was with Harrow giving him the cold shoulder throughout most of their interactions!

So I think, if John had made a genuine effort, he could have understood Harrow. Or at the very least, he could come to sympathize with who she was and where she came from, even if he might not be able to empathize with her extremely strange upbringing and value system.

But the thing about John is, he never cared enough to try to understand Harrow.

One of the repeated details that kills me in HtN is that no one ever asks Harrow about the significance of her face paint. Because Harrow often is expressing herself, very openly, and no one makes the slightest effort to learn the language she's speaking!

And Harrow not being given face paint in the hospital also has a very similar context to that Seventh adept who bleeds out only for John to be mildly annoyed at the whole ordeal. The guy loves making myriad-old pop culture references and yet shows less than zero interest in or respect for the present day culture of his followers. He’s so caught up in telling his own story that he never stops to consider that anyone else might have their own story too.

Which makes the flipside of this equation all the more fascinating. Because throughout HtN and NtN, the undercurrent to Harrow and John's interactions is that Harrow does not understand John either.

And yet, as we see in NtN, Harrow did try, very patiently, to understand John. She listened attentively, she asked important questions, she persisted even when he spoke in terms she had no context for. And so, in the end, Harrow could understand John, or rather, she could understand enough to decide she does not consider John Gaius worthy of being her God.

If John had made even the slightest effort to understand Harrow - or even simply respect her - he might have been able to win her back to his side. Instead, he answers her crisis of faith with a crass and shallow joke. Making it crystal clear that despite two books in Harrow’s company, he has truly learned nothing about her.

And because he did not, she leaves him.

#the locked tomb #john gaius #harrowhark nonagesimus #harrow the ninth #nona the ninth #ntn spoilers #tlt analysis #my tlt stuff #my ramblings #read more #ofc there are lots of other things going on #besides just harrow's opinion of john #but this feels like a significant part #respect is a two way street and all

276 notes · View notes

talenlee · 9 months

Text

Who Rules You

I’m not trying to make every consideration of my fundamentalist history this year focus in some way on The Locked Tomb but it’s just very helpful, and since it’s what put it in my mind, I figure it’s what I’m going to be using as my lens. Particularly because as I engage with that fandom I hear people, totally normal and regular people, react to things in the book that reveal to me more ways in which my upbringing was in fact, completely and utterly horseradished.

Let me talk to you of John Gaius, the Emperor Eternal, God with a soft G, and his part in my upbringing.

John Gaius, Jod for short going forward, is a major character in the story of The Locked Tomb. It may constitute a spoiler to inform you that those books feature a character with that name and that title and that he’s, like, a dude who shows up in those books and is kinda a dick, but I don’t think that’s the kind of spoiler for a book series that merits a serious warning. However, in my effort to be nice to people who are big crybaby wenuses about this kind of thing, I will say, here and now, beyond this point, I’m going to talk about a character in a book. I’m going to imply that the guy who became the God-Emperor of Mankind and the Undying Necrolord may have done some fucked up shit.

You will cope.

When conversation about the world of the Locked Tomb turns to John Gaius, a few things come up pretty quickly. One, that the Emperor fucks, two that the Emperor looks like Taika Watiti and therefore, well, duh, and then three that God was a twitch streamer and how weird it is, how unexpected this is. For this end I’d like to let you know that cults form over communication networks in which you can isolate people, ideally without leaving them feeling like they’re being isolated. Cults have been formed over the radio, cults have been formed via pamphlets and newsletter. Cults have been constructed through every means of interface, and there are already multiple examples of cults being formed, via youtube and twitch.

I completely seriously mean this when I say that one of the major political parties of the United States is functionally, a cult that got its operation happening thanks to twitter.

This led to my first realisation: A lot of people don’t really realise they’ve seen a real bastard before. There’s I think an impetus for people who haven’t dealt with them up close to see the humanity in everyone, to see ways to forgive and be kind to a lot of people. This is usually brought up in the context of prison, as if prison is somehow a reasonable system for finding bad people, and it sort of white-washes together criminals and bad people, two groups that don’t really have that much overlap.

Our cult leader was, well, unremarkable. He was heavy set in the middle, bald, had glasses, a wife, a daughter, and a kinda-adopted daughter, I never got the long and short of that scenario. The dude could quote scripture and espouse ideas and present rhetorical frameworks that were consistently good at making you think he’d answered you, and then build over and over again on that impression such that you could very easily think that maybe you had gotten an answer and just not understood it. It wasn’t the kind of thing that would stand up to an inquisitive, concentrated and confrontational mind, but the good news is that cults select away from that kind of thing. Fundamentalists drive out those to whom critical thinking comes too easily because they can’t be happy under fundamentalism.

Our church signed onto a pledge that specifically stated its goal was to isolate us in our communities. The phrasing was different – it was that to defend our beliefs in the truth of the Bible, we had to do what the Bible said, and quoted a bunch of verses:

1. Separation from doctrinal schismatics and apostates;

a. “Mark them” (Philippians 3:17-18) b. “Avoid them” (Romans 16:1718) c. “Identity them” (I Timothy 1:20; II Timothy 1:15; 4:14) d. “From such turn away” (II Timothy 3:5) e. “Reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11) f. “Have no fellowship with them”(Ephesians 5:11) g. “Be not unequally yoked together with” (II Corinthians 6:14-16) h. “Come out from among them” (II Corinthians 6:17) i. “Reject” (Titus 3:10)

2. Separation from disobedient saints and appeasers;

a. “Note that man” (I Thessalonians 3:14) b. “Withdraw yourself”(II Thessalonians3:6) c. “Have no company with”(II Thessalonians 3:15) d. “Rebuke them sharply” (Titus 1:13) [20] e. “Admonish him as a brother” (II Thessalonians 3:15) f. “Count him not an enemy” (II Thessalonians 3:15) g. “Keep not company” (I Corinthians 5:11) h. “With such an one not to eat” (I Corinthians 5:11)

And while adhering to this separatist position, that we “let brotherly love continue” (Hebrews 13:1)

Source

This was an isolation tactic, done to ensure that we in our churches saw any dissent from our fundamentalist worldview as being an attack on our faith. We had to drive away those people, because the Bible said we had to, as stated by our articles of faith that were written and drawn out by men.

Notice though, the framing? Check out there, one of those quotes: “Mark Them.” Phillippians 3:17-18. How the fuck is that one two-word phrase in two verses? Does one end with ‘mark’ and the other begin with ‘them?’

The full quote is this:

17 Brethren, be followers together of me, and mark those who so walk, as ye have us for an example.

18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even with weeping, as the enemies of the cross of Christ.

Notice the phrase ‘mark them’ is used to evoke the idea of eschewing contact with the apostate. This is not what these verses present. These verses literally say ‘follow together with me and mark those who so walk.’ It’s talking about who you include, not who you exclude. Adding on verse 18 says that there are people who walk as enemies of the faith, but that’s not saying anything about what to do with them. And this is just one grabbed citation at random, where any of the others are almost certainly just as mis-handled.

Jod is a bad person. You can tell, because of all the bad things he’s done. You can really tell because of how he frames doing the bad things he’s done as inevitable, or necessary, or the responsibility of the people who drove him to do it. This led to a second realisation: People aren’t used to being lied to. Our pastor told families in the church he was approaching them in secret for help with his money problems from his pyramid scheme, and he didn’t call it that, but that’s what it was, and every single one of them wound up signing up and giving him giant chunks of money in the name of the church because he was their pastor.

When he told us that he’d been doing it, and that he couldn’t pay, and he was leaving, he didn’t set up anything. He didn’t apologise. He just… left.

Just fucked off.

The person telling you the story is a person telling you a story. Jod in the Locked Tomb tells an extensive narrative about what he did and why he did it, but you gotta remember he’s the one telling you that story, he is literally giving you a version of events that he gets to shape. There’s stuff he leaves out and stuff that’s inconsistent and such a focus on things that build empathy like his frustration and his sadness and his need for vengeance that all are explicitly trying to manipulate his audience which includes you.

The third realisation, which makes sense to me because Muir has mentioned cult upbringing too, is that even if our experiences differ, cult experiences fuck you up in ways that rhyme because they’re all fundamentally about environments of control. I was not a subject, directly to our pastor. I was a kid a few steps removed; my mother was directly important, my dad secondarily important so me and my sister were tertiarilly important and we could be used to turn those other gears.

Jod is a great character. Really well written. Very authentic, very true to life. He’s not unique. He’s not singular. He’s a shithead of a type that exists, in the world, today, and who is probably just looking for the right way to put people he wants under his control.

Study him and study the ways he thinks he can fool you.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#The Locked Tomb #Fundie Stuff

5 notes · View notes

spushii · 2 years

Note

LITERALLY SO GLAD THAT THE FEELING INSANE OVER THIS SERIES IS MUTUAL FR ITS BEEN ABSOLUTELY TEARING ME APART id love to hear your thoughts!!!! *_* I have been itching to read more posts about it but also trying to avoid spoilers rbdbdbjf

I just started nona yesterday, I finished harrow few days ago but god that one fucked with me good I needed a bit to just let everything that happened sink in. like ITS SO GOOD it’s so much darker than the first book and I still don’t have the words to express how much I genuinely enjoyed the second one it’s literally so fucking great. I was almost tempted to reread harrow after I finished it but I wanted to read all three before any rereads lol but the attachment I have to these characters is insane I just fucking cling to them so badly I am so unwell. love gideon, my best friend gideon I miss her sm…

SQUEEEEEEEEEE IM SO HAPPY YOU LIKED HARROW!!! its such a phenomenal book its so. um. Harrowing. lol. im going to have a really hard time articulating just all of the Shit That I Think About with this book series because there really really is so much.

getting right into the meat of my thoughts i guess. i really love how Gideon's bit with Ianthe at the end of HtN recontextualizes the bit of the pool scene where Harrow talks about the first time she saw The Body. where it really does feel like in that moment Gideon simultaneously realized that she was in love with Harrowhark and that Harrow would never feel the same. And i think it allows you to glean some of the genuinely a little bit selfish motivation behind Gideon's suicide. There were a lot of things that motivated Gideon to kill herself so Harrow and Camilla could live, but i think a significant portion of it was her not wanting to live a life indebted to Harrow in a way she would never be content with (Connecting mostly to Harrow asking her to return to the ninth house and care for it ((and by extension, The Body)) in her stead, in the event of her death), which is to say in the grand scheme of things, the choice between Living for Harrow and Dying for Harrow was a very easy one to make for Gideon Nav.

I dont have as much analysis for this but god i think all the fucking time. About Gideon the First attacking Harrow in the bathroom. and the subsequent Everything. It's just so fucking. Bleak. Reading it is physically exhausting. It's so. oh my god. I don't even know what to say. Fucking "Harrow, do something normal." I'm Going To Kill Myself. Im Going To Kill John Gaius. The fact that she KILLS him and it doesnt even KEEP. THE FUCKING. THIS. HARROWWWWW

HARROWHARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE NORMAL IN MY LIFE AFTER IVE READ THIS

I do love John. as much as i hate him i love him as well. He's such a fucking coward. such a worthless piece of shit. such a suffocatingly interesting character. I love when Harrow tries to ask him about Alecto and he goes on about fucking "You'd make a hell of a daughter, Harrowhark. I sometimes indulge in the wish that you'd been mine." LITERALLY FUCKING WHAT. WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOTU WHERE AM I.what if you had a crush on a girl but you had an even bigger crush on her dad's dead ex-girlfriend and then her dad told you that he wished you were his daughter. i feel so fucking abnormal

EDITING THIS POST BECAUSE I FORGOT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WAKE. WHAT THE FUCK RIGHT???????????????? god i think forever about how much Gideon Nav loved her mother. how much she clung to the belief that she was loved. Has Gideon Nav ever been knowingly loved by anyone, in her life? Maybe Aiglemene loved her, in a way. But Gideon wouldn't have known that until it was far too late to treasure it. Harrow certainly loves her, but Gideon can't believe that. Not with The Body in the way. Not with Harrow, to Gideon, seeming so disgusted with her final act of devotion that she destroyed her own mind to be rid of the knowledge of it. Magnus treated her kindly, but kind is a far cry from love. But she loved her mother. Held the belief so desperately-yet-gently close to her chest, that her mother loved her too. Loved her enough to come crashing and burning through the Ninth planet's atmosphere and dying herself on the way down. Loved her enough to protect her life at the expense of her own. Imagine, then, for Gideon to learn that she was a tool. A key. Her destiny in life was to die within the first days of her birth; a blood sacrifice, as her mother willed it. Her mother hadn't brought her to the Ninth House in an attempt to save her, she'd brought her there on her way to kill her. Its So. God. Fuck this fucking book. Has Gideon ever been loved? Every truly been loved by anyone in this world? If she has, she doesn't know it.

#ask #there's so much more i could get into. i think so much about ianthe shes such a slimy bitch i love her to pieces #i kind of want her. girl can you emotionally manipulate me into having sex with you next ^_^<-JOKE #im so excited for you to get deeper into nona. for like the whole last third of the book i felt like i was going to start pulling hair out #<-GOOD THING

5 notes · View notes

necromancy-savant · 2 years

Text

Ok here are my thoughts on Nona the Ninth:

- Nona is really relatable to me in some ways, like how she thinks, communicates and processes things, and how she has some challenges but is still an adult and wants to be respected as one. And she has intense "tantrums" when she gets emotionally overwhelmed. I actually like the thought that if the Earth could be embodied as a human, she would be a bit like me. - Still emotional about how much everyone loves her and honestly how respectful and kind everyone in Nona's life is to her. Presumably the people of all those other planets outside the solar system are the descendants of the trillionaires that got away and that's why John wants to conquer them, and they are lovely to Nona. I'm interested to see how the final book resolves the conflict between the Nine Houses and everywhere else and what it ends up saying, intentionally or not. - Ianthe has suddenly gotten a lot cooler. I'm not sure what it is. Did she do something with her hair? I think it's that her dialogue is so good. I just had to read most of her lines out loud. I'm still laughing about "duplicitous sluts." She's also even more pathetic now, which only makes her more appealing. Like she's not even competent at being an evil villain and I love her so much more for it.

-While reading, I was thinking about how Ianthe and Naberius are a perversion of everything the adept/cavalier relationship is supposed to be, but given that the whole thing is based on a misunderstanding and maybe not such a great thing anyway, I haven't decided yet what the implications of that are (will probably need more data from the last installment.) - Being risen in undeath as a revenant seems to have turned Gideon into kind of an asshole, but on the other hand, I think she and Nona just instinctively don't like each other and are clearly both super jealous of each other, and I'm guessing the in-universe reason is because Gideon is related to John. And she's really only mean to Nona, who is also admittedly a dick to Gideon even before she meets her, and otherwise mostly just seems hopeless and depressed. She's a lot like her father, actually: she tries to get revenge and deal out justice in the form of punishment only to find that it doesn't make her feel any better.

-Is anyone going to tell Ianthe and/or John that the princes in the tower got murdered???? - I wonder if John would take it as a compliment how attracted Harrow is to Alecto since he purposely made her to be as attractive as possible. I think he would because when I was like 14 on RuneScape, a girl told me I was hot, and I thought it was a very nice compliment since I had made my character as handsome as I could. - For that matter, I wonder if Harrow would be pleased to know that The Body thought she was pretty. - I'm kind of surprised that apparently people think John Gaius is like some evil mastermind??? I totally see him as a normal person with a lot of big feelings who is scared. I actually can imagine being angry enough at an injustice to feel like I want to destroy the solar system to erase even the memory of it, and don't think I could promise that I wouldn't if I had the ability to while also experiencing the most intense trauma and grief of my life. - I'll come back to the Biblical references, but in a few places Palamedes seemed to me to be a bit too Christlike for my personal liking. - I'm interested in how perfection in this book and in the series as a whole is presented in the literal sense of the word as something finished. Towards the ends of this novel there's a lot about love as something perfect and finite, but I think more broadly the highest aim in The Locked Tomb is to finish something. - I was also thinking today about Crux. When Gideon says she wants him to know she's the child of the emperor, it reminded me of that line from the Bible where Jesus says "whatever you did for the least of my brethren, you did for me." What strikes me is that when thus accused, Crux doesn't give a shit. He basically says, I don't care if you're literally God, to me you will always be worthless and will always be inherently inferior due to the social position you were born into. He is the exact kind of person the entire Resurrection was supposed to eliminate from the universe, and here he is 10,000 years later making John's own daughter's life hell.

-I'm so glad everyone else is just as fixated on the Barbie thing as I am.

-WHEN NONA LOSES THE WILL TO LIVE UNTIL SHE REMEMBERS ABOUT NOODLE

I still have a few questions about how certain things happen or work, and that's something that's been an issue for me with all three books so far. I don't need an in-depth explanation, just a simple how did they do that. But in short, this one was definitely my favorite so far, and I intend to immediately re-read the others to see what I can pick up on knowing what I know now. After that, I can take inventory of any questions I still have. Nona really contextualized Gideon and Harrow for me and brought them together in a way that's allowing me to tease out the big themes in the series. The recurring characters are now established enough to really have fun with them, but the new characters are also interesting, endearing, and feel real through the little details about them.

#nona the ninth spoilers #nona the ninth

1 note · View note

hyperiion · 3 years

Text

Alecto as a Resurrection Beast

My current “wtf is alecto” theory is that she’s a sort of resurrection beast, albiet one without the corpus and heralds and all that, and thus less intense.

When describing who A.L. was to Harrow, John says, “When the dust settled and I beheld what was left and what was gone, I was entirely alone. [...] One moment I was a man, and the next moment I was... the first necromancer.” This, paired with Wake accusing John of genocide— “I charge you with acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the human race”, “did the ten billion give you that too?”, “how many babies died in the bomb, Gaius?”— implies that John was behind a bomb of some kind that wiped out Earth. Doing so gave him the power of 10b souls. Alone, he resurrected Alecto before the Earth/solar system: “She was the first Resurrection. She was my Adam.” I’m piggybacking off of others’ theories here when I say that Alecto is a Resurrection Beast; I honestly didn’t catch that that was even a possibility before people brought it up.

Upon rereading HtN, this seems like the most plausible answer: it’s said that after one kills a planet, a RB pops up. The shock of killing a planet all at once is described to lead to “the immediate expulsion of the soul”, the creation of a revenant. So: John kills the Earth, all at once, using a bomb. This makes him the first necromancer somehow (I think the same way that Harrow was ensured to be a necromancer, by directing the souls to him somehow) and also creates the first Resurrection Beast. “When I first met her I called her First, One.” It’s probably no coincidence that they also name the Resurrection Beasts like this: Number Two, etc. John also describes her like so: “[She] was not a normal human being, [...] and struggled to pretend.” Even John calls her a monster. It’s the most common word to describe Alecto, even in narration, or when talking about the Body. The way that the lyctors talk about her is always in this vein: “she could never act human”. When the lyctors are confronting John about Alecto, they also say, “we knew the beasts were coming, and we knew they were partly coming for her”, and “... Alecto’s genetic code—to the extent she even had one, which by the way I am not convinced she ever did”. The second one def points towards Alecto as never being human. Even if she was a resurrected person, she’d have a genetic code. But if she was the revenant of a dead planet?

Lastly: when John first tells Harrow the story of A.L. (which could have been 100% bullshit, but I’m going to assume that since he sees Harrow like his child, he’s going to be earnest with her in part), he says that it was right after “the cost of Lyctorhood was paid” that they were introduced to RBs, and that Alecto “died after that first terrible assault [of RBs]”. This implies that a RB killed her, but as we know after the end of HtN, the lyctors begged John to kill her— after they were introduced to Resurrection Beasts. This is the final indication to them that she’s too dangerous/etc. I think it also showed them her true nature.

#alecto the ninth #alecto tlt #harrow the ninth #john gaius #the locked tomb #apologies to the 5 non-bots that follow me and also to KT #who have zero idea or interest in what this is #ALSO the body is able to sense the corpus of No 7 as it approaches the lyctors #like that indicates a connection #i dont remember if they ever said if they fought all nine rbs #and my excuse if they mentioned RB One already is that it wasnt REALLY one #bc john lying to protect alecto is to be expected #Alecto the first #tlt meta #tlt

40 notes · View notes

thanatophobia-thoughts · 3 years

Photo

Some of my wind has returned to me, so to speak, for working on this blog. Not that I’ve stopped, as all of those following can tell, nor will I soon be returning to 4 original posts each day – 3 is enough, with one reblog to bring up old information. In fact, that is part of the discussion for today, in a way.

Returning to work has allowed me to return to my love of reading, and while today I will be going to get the new Junji Ito manga (Sensor – I write this on 8/17/21), I have been working my way through the Masters of Rome series by Colleen McCullough.

I’ve suggested reading autobiographies and diaries, and that suggestion doesn’t change.

What I’d now like to suggest are reading stories – fictional or historical, or that strange mix of both – that carry over the lives of multiple people.

The only way I can think to explain that, is to use my current example. The series begins with telling the stories of Gaius Marius and Sulla, two men who set in motion dramatic changes for historical Rome. It goes through to their deaths (along with a host of other side characters), into the life of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, and Gaius Octavius – the future Augustus. I’m only on the 4th book right now, but I have already observed an entire generation die off.

My beloved Sulla, the ever-graceful Julia wife of Marius, and of course, Marius himself, are all gone. Their impact continues to be mentioned, to be remembered, but with every book it fades. Even that of Servilia (mother of Brutus), who as a child was terribly impacted by her mother’s adultery, seems to recognize that influence less and less. She has more influences, more nuances, to her life.

And these, too, will fade. Octavius is not yet born, but hinted at in Caesar noting he should find a husband for Atia, mother of Octavius. This will circle back. Another generation will fall, and another rise.

I do not believe this is a common occurrence in series; they tend to focus on one set of characters, and do not show the progression to the rise of others. A Song of Ice and Fire may get close to that, one day, but as of yet I cannot say if it will; nor can I suggest it for such reading as the series is not yet complete.

Masters of Rome is the only series I am familiar with that does this, though I have never sought it out as a thing before. I imagine it may be more common in historical fiction than it is in other genres.

The only other I can think of that may do this (I have not read it so I cannot confirm) is Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

So my suggestion is, if you like history, find a period you enjoy that spans around 100 years, and see if there are any historical fiction written about it. Or, if you’re not into history, I’m certain there are sci-fi and fantasy stories that span generations.

Why do I make this suggestion?

Simply because I do not believe we are ever truly exposed to this. We know it occurs, as we know death occurs, but we are rarely involved in stories that go through multiple perspectives of changing generations and times. We certainly see it around us – my grandparents, my parents, and gradually, the children of friends (maybe my brother – who knows!), and perhaps even their children! We experience it, but I believe we are so close to it, that it often blinds us.

This is a way to remove oneself from the narrative, and look at it through other eyes. Experience it, in a way we live. I feel Masters of Rome captures that. I know the names Nixon and Reagan, the way many in Rome may have known the names Sulla and Marius after a few decades went by – where to the people left who lived with them, they remain huge, notable! To someone like me? Not so much. In my time, I suppose it’ll be figures like Barack and Trump who stand high in my memory, as far as politics go.

Innovations in my mom’s time seem simply normal, or even outdated, like the VHS. Now we have Blu-ray and digital!

I do not think we truly experience multiple generations in the way a novel or even a show, can allow us to – all at once, quickly, and to thus be more keenly aware of the shifts because by our time our reckoning with it – a few hours, a few days, weeks, depending on how fast we read – is far shorter than the time changes occur through generations, which is years. It’s fresh. We wonder at how things are forgotten, so easily cast aside, when it happens all the time.

In a way, it brings us to confront that true horror of thanatophobia that many like to hide behind: that we are not truly dead until we are forgotten. Here we see forgetting even within the same, and next, generations.

Here, we see death. As normal. And here we see moving on, as normal. Here we see lives untouched by the tragedies of these earlier losses. Would my brother’s children, ever be impacted by the loss of great-grandparents they never knew? No. No more than I am, and of those, there is only my father’s grandfather I think I would have liked to know, because he saw something in my dad that my dad should have seen earlier.

Exposure to generational stories and the death inherent in them, the change inherent in them, I think is important. In some ways it is as comforting as it is terrible, because for those with loved ones they’ll leave behind, it shows how families can grow and flourish and be happy after losses. It shows that “moving on”.

I browsed a Reddit thread for ideas (https://www.reddit.com/r/booksuggestions/comments/wdy5f/can_anyone_suggest_fiction_novels_that_span_over/), and so I am including these thoughts as well:

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Roots by Alex Haley

House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer (a part of a series followed by The Prodigal Daughter)

The Mists of Avalon by Marion Bradley

The Sackett series by Louis L’amour

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

Some of these look quite promising, so hopefully some will appeal. If there are other ideas, I certainly welcome reblogs with contributions!

#death anxiety #death anxiety talk #book recommendation #book recommendations #masters of rome #colleen mccullough #historical fiction #thanatophobia

4 notes · View notes

dailyaudiobible · 3 years

Text

12/07/2020 DAB Transcript

Hosea 6:1-9:17, 3 John 1:1-15, Psalms 126:1-6, Proverbs 29:12-14

Today is the 7th day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here with you today as we continue our journey, which is what we do every day, continue our journey through the Scriptures. And each and every day greets us with something new to think about, something to carry forward, something that develops us and continues our growth in the Lord. And, so, let's dive in. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Hosea chapters 6, seven, eight and nine today.

Introduction to third John:

Okay. So, yesterday we read an entire letter in the New Testament that was called second John and we talked about it. And we started and finished it. So, that brings us to the threshold of another letter. This one is the final of…of John's letters. It's known as third John and probably like the other two they were written from Ephesus probably later in John's life. But third John's just a little different than first and second John because…well…I mean, remember when we were reading Paul's letters and we came to a short letter, known as Philemon? So, Philemon’s the one with the runaway slave Onesimus and you remember all that. But the…the distinction about that particular letter is that it wasn't a letter written to a church or a group of people. It was a personal letter written to a person. So, third John is like that. Third John is a personal letter written to a man named Gaius. And Gaius it appears from the letter is an upstanding believer in the…in the…in the church world or the network of churches that John was leading. And John writes this letter to Gaius to give him…well...a couple of things; personal encouragement, because he's passionate about the gospel and he’s willing to serve and supports the traveling teachers that are sent throughout the churches that John has sent throughout the churches and the custom of welcoming these ministers who come, like itinerant ministers who move around the churches to encourage the churches and teach them. The care of their needs was a common thing and Gaius participated in this. But it’s not just to pat him on the back. John felt like this letter was necessary because it was a church leader named Diotrephes and this leader had risen up in authority but had in the process distanced himself from John. And, so, he refused to offer hospitality to these traveling ministers. And causing even more divisiveness, Diotrephes was kicking people out of the church who disagreed with him and assisted these itinerant missionaries. Now here's the irony. In second John, John basically says, “this is how you should…I mean you shouldn't really show hospitality or give words of encouragement to itinerant ministers who are coming in and bringing a false teaching.” So, Diotrephes is doing that, but apparently has decided that the people John is sending through are bringing false teachings and he's ascribed to something different. We don’t really know the full context here. Nevertheless, John wrote this personal letter to Gaius to commend him because he was caring and showing hospitality to those who were traveling to bring the gospel. And, so, this letter then would serve as a written notice, like it would affirm in writing that Gaius was doing the right thing. And you can imagine that if you get a personal letter from one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, then that's probably pretty valuable. And it has certainly been preserved and it's in our New Testament now, but you can imagine at the time that this would have…this would've carried weight with it. And, so, again, as with many of the letters, and much of the New Testament we get a glimpse back at the early formative time in the faith, and some of the controversies and some of the problems that they had to face to move things forward. And, so, we’ll read together in its entirety now. Third John.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and thank You for what it does to us, that it goes inside of us and moves around within rearranging things, transforming things, moving things out that don't belong, moving things in that do into our lives so that all things work together for the good of those who love You. And we love You and we are grateful. And we thank You even as we move into a more speedy time of the year, this month of December. And even as things begin to move more quickly in the Scriptures because we’re moving through so much territory, thank You for what we get to learn, that even though we might read a whole letter or a whole book in a day that we get to kind of fly over it and understand where it sits in the grand scheme of canon of Scripture. And, so, Father as we continue this rhythm and as it does speed up and as we do continue to move through more and more territory we invite Your Holy Spirit to lead us to what it is that we need to hear and what we need to observe and what we need to meditate upon what we need to plant in the soil of our lives. In fact, we open our lives to You and submit You fully and invite You to plant in our lives the fruit of the spirit, the fruit of Your spirit. And may this come from the transformational power of the Scriptures in our lives each and every day. Come Holy Spirit we pray into all this, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base. That is the website. So, that's where you find out what's going on around here. Of course, we have the Daily Audio Bible app as well. And if you don't have the app you should get it. It's free. It's a way to get away a more connected to the journey through the Bible in a year. So, check that out. But all the things we’re talking about here can be accessed from within the app as well.

Right now, it's Christmas time. So, we’ve been talking about the Christmas box that we don't have this year. We normally do and we pack it full of all kinds of goodies and select them perfectly and it's just great, but with all of the uncertainties that this year has brought we have elected to just say, “here's the shop, we've discounted everything that we possibly can. Make your own Christmas box.” If you spend $40 or more in the Shop, we will send you the Daily Audio Bible Christmas ornament for 2020. That's an exclusive for the Christmas box each year, but we’ll send it to you this year. And, so, Yeah, I was talking about that yesterday, how I have them hung on my tree and how they…they represent a year of my life in the Bible, but they represent a year of my life in community with you as well. And, so, I love that. So, we’ll send it to you if you spend $40 more in the Shop. There's all kinds of resources that are in the Shop. The Daily Audio Bible Global Campfire Klean Kanteen that we only had one time this year. We have them rarely. We get them sometimes a couple times a year. This time one time this year. And this is the only time this year and it’s the Global Campfire edition. It’s awesome. I mean, I have one too. I use it every single day. Those will not last. We've had them for I think a week. They are almost gone. They might be gone by the end of the day, but they will not last this week. S, yeah, check those out. They’re in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. And there are all kinds of other…other ideas there as well. So, check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app and share from there or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello Daily Audio Bible community this is Abba’s Joy and I just want to call in with a special prayer request. Of course, I’d like to say thank you to this community and to Brian Hardin and the Hardin family for this wonderful ministry that has blessed me tremendously throughout this year. I would like to ask for prayers for my son. He is 14 years old and he deals with anxiety, self-confidence issues. He blames God for certain things when they don’t go his way and he has developed a resistance to listening to the word of God. There’s just a lot of confusion right now and I know the enemy has been trying to get through to him. But deep down I know that he has love for Jesus Christ. And I just would like you guys to lift him up so that he just knows the power of Jesus Christ and that he can overcome anything. I thank you so much and I love you all. Have a blessed day or night wherever you may be. Thank you.

Okay I’m gonna try this again. I’m in my car and I’m on my way to work and I don’t have the phone in my hand so I’m hoping this is recording and you can hear me. This is Kathleen Mount Zion Illinois. I just wanted to thank Gigi for calling in with a prayer or not even a prayer just a story of thanks, a story of thankfulness to God for what He has done in her life. And Gigi I just…really, I just…you have such a kind spirit. You seem to just have this amazingly kind spirit in you and that just resonated with me and how thankful you were to God for bringing you Seth. And it sounds like God brought him write to you and it changes your life. That…that hit me because I too had thought I would be a missionary someday and instead I…I married and had children and now I have grandchildren and am very thankful for all of that and I just, you know, you just, you just want everybody to feel what you feel, right? That’s what I would like. I just I thank God and I think it all comes from thanking God, from being thankful. And that’s what I pray, for the Daily Audio Bible listeners, that we could thank God for anything, anything that is good and positive and wonderful in our lives. Thank you.

Hi, I’m Halo and my mom was the one who inspired me to this program, and I love it. And also, I kind of need help with my hatred. There’s a kid in my class that is really mean. And I tried to remember that you have to forgive your neighbors and I just need a little help with that. Thank you DAB family. Also thank you Brian to help my mom through the good and bad times. Bye and have a great day.

Father God tonight we lift up those who are searching for meaning whether they are Christians Muslim Seeks Buddhists another region or no religion at all or just don’t know. Father God we are searching for meaning, we’re looking for…we’re looking for something and we know Lord that…that You are the only one that gives meaning, that gives us that fulfillment that we’re actually looking for. Father God during this Advent and Christmas time I pray that You’d be…that Your truth would be a shining light, that those people who are searching could find You. We pray for our churches and our communities, for our brothers and sisters, and pray that they would be and that we would be shining light so that we would be able to guide people to You so people will find what they’re looking for even those that don’t know that what they’re looking for, that they would find it in You. May they join us in saying praise the Lord. We will give thanks to the Lord with our whole hearts. Great are the works of the Lord studied by all who delight in them. Full of splendor and majesty is His work and Your righteousness endures forever. You provide food for those who fear You. You remember Your promises forever. May we see You be glorified Lord and may lives be saved in Jesus name…

This is Candace from Oregon with a praise report. My son Micah was in a really awful situation and he actually had some good things happening at the same time, one of which was the first time in his whole life where he had paid vacation for a week. But then that last day when it was time to go back to this really difficult situation at his work he was just overcome with hopelessness and despair and depression and anxiety. So, I did warfare against the…the spirits, those spirits, those evil spirits and any back up plan the enemy had. And our Lord who is so kind and so merciful. Our Lord who is faithful and true and always loading us with undeserved favor was right there. And Micah, he…he almost didn’t go into work because of just this huge dilemma he was up against. But he managed to go anyway and when I picked him up 12 hours later after a 12 hour shift the…this oppression had completely lifted. Lord, thank You so much and please help Micah to know that it’s You and to receive You Lord wholeheartedly and to confess You before men. Thank You, Jesus. Thanks for Your love and tender care. To…to You be all the honor and all the glory for all the things You’re doing in all of our difficulties Lord.

1 note · View note

redrikki · 4 years

Text

Miscellaneous Fandom Fic Masterlist

The 100

Born to Float - Octavia became a criminal with her first breath. Some people are just born to float. (Octavia Blake, Bellamy Blake, Aurora Blake)

Post-Apocalyptic Ethics 101 - Collection of dribbles & short stories. (Bellamy Blake, Clarke Griffin, Marcus Kane, Jasper Jordan)

Coin Operated Boy - The things John Murphy does to survive. Tag to 3.10. Trigger Warning: RAPE. (John Murphy/Emori, Murphy/Ontari)

Battlestar Galactica

Persephone on New Caprica - It’s winter on New Caprica and they’re all Persephone here. A collection of short stories. (Gaius Baltar/Caprica Six, Felix Gaeta/Eight, Kara Tharce/Leoben Conroy)

Four Loves (The Canoodling on New Caprica Remix) - Three loves which died on New Caprica and one which flourished. Remix of Canoodling & Conspiracies Oh My! by raktajino. (Maya & Isis, Diana Seelix & Jammer, Boomer & God, Laura Roslin/William Adama)

The Broken Earth series Seismic Shift - Schaffa tells himself he will stop if Eitz says no. This one will be allowed to say no. The boy says nothing at all. (Schaffa, Eitz) WARNING: Child Sexual Abuse

Dark Angel

Tricks & Treats - Joshua and Alec go to a party. Joshua eats little hot dogs and is diverting. (Joshua, Alec, Rita)

Another Day at the Office - Insert zombie apocalypse. (Alec, Original Cindy, Normal)

Pooka Boo - Maybe Ben’s hallucinations started out random and fluffy too. (Alec, Max, Logan, Original Cindy, Pooka)

Dollhouse

Ms. Lonelyhearts - Adelle knew Victor was a lover at heart. (Adelle Dewitt/Victor, Sierra/Victor)

Downton Abbey

The Hedgehog’s Dilemma - “Mind my spikes.” Five warnings, four relationships and one revelation. Daemons AU. (Thomas Barrow/Duke, Thomas & Sara O'Brien, Thomas/Edward Courtney, Thomas/Jimmy Kent)

Bluestocking Girl - Four books which didn’t change Edith’s life and one letter to the editor which did. (Edith Crawley, Crawley family)

Snakes & Lions - In Thomas, Jimmy finds that courage isn’t exclusive to Gryffindors. Now if only he could find some himself. Harry Potter fusion. Part one of Houses Alike In Dignity (Thomas Barrow/Jimmy Kent)

The House Elf and the Lioness - “Honestly Sybil, he’s practically a house elf,” Mary exclaimed when she caught them kissing in the stacks. Harry Potter fusion. Part two of Houses Alike In Dignity (Sybil Crawley/Tom Branson, Mary Crawley)

The Owl & the Son-of-a-Squib - Matthew Crawley is quite shocked when an owl swoops down and drops off a letter which changes his life. Harry Potter fusion. Part three of Houses Alike In Dignity (Matthew Crawley, Isobel Crawley, Violet Crawley)

The Dragon Prince

Dragon Scales - Collection of short tumblr prompts. (Rayla, Callum, Ezran, Amaya, Soren) You Fight Like You Practice - Callum’s never been good with a sword, but the right teacher can make all the difference. Two lessons, two teachers, and one real fight. (Callum, Soren, Rayla) The Talk - Rayla and Callum finally talk about what happened the night of the assassination. (Rayla, Callum, Ezran)

Firefly

Firefly, In Brief - Collection of short stories and dribbles. (Firefly crew)

Will to Be Well (The Psychosomatic Remix) - Studies on the efficacy of acupuncture are inconclusive but, if River believes hard enough, learning the art might make her better. Remix of If I Could Will You Whole by Spiralleds (River, Inara, Jayne)

Harry Potter

Have to Start Somewhere (The Words to Rebuild Remix) - This diary belongs to Ginevra Molly Weasley and no one else. Remix of Words to Build by Elennare. (Ginny Weasley)

Interstellar

Eureka Moment - The night she solved the equation, Murph had unprotected sex for the first time in her life. (Murph/Getty)

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

Requiescat in pace - In which Jonathan Strange discovers that returning the dead to their natural state is more difficult than he would imagine. (Jonathan Strange, dead Neapolitans)

Miraculous Ladybug

Intrepid Reporter - Alya won’t let a little thing like danger stop her from reporting the truth. (Alya, Marinette, Nino) Better Than Ice Cream - Orange, mint, and raspberry could be a tasty combination. The solution to every love triangle should be polyamory, but sometimes it’s just not that simple. (Marinette, Adrien) St. Athanase Day - Adrien and Marinette’s beret the second time around. She forgets the card but still signs her work. (Adrien, Plagg) No Sleep Til Hawkmoth - An overly-caffeinated revelation helps narrow Alya’s search for Hawkmoth (Alya, Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Chloé)

Misfits

Good Housekeeping - It’s been months since his mum kicked him out, but at least Nathan hasn’t sunk to sleeping under the flyover. He’s got a good thing going at the community center and means to keep it. (Nathan Young)

The (Non)Haunting of Nathan Young -And to think he’d scoffed when Simon had tried to warn him. Everyone you love will die. What a laugh, right? Christ, he’s been such an idiot. (Nathan Young/Kelly Bailey)

Pushing Daisies

Li'l Gumshoe - Young Penny Cod was nine years, two hours, and forty-three minutes old when she found the book which changed her life. Like hundreds of other little black girls who would encounter Li’l Gumshoe, she felt as though it had been written just for her. The difference was, Penny Cod was right. (Penny Cod, Emerson Cod, Lila Robinson, Pie Hole gang)

Orphan Black

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl - There’s something magical about Uncle Felix’s flat. Maybe it’s all the art. (Kira, Felix, Cosima)

Devil’s Trap - Helena and Grace have a lot in common. (Helena, Grace)

Despite All My Rage - Rachel is still just a rat in a cage. So much for self-directed evolution. (Rachel, Aldous Leekie, Ethan Duncan)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Shadow Over Mystacor - After Shadow Weaver’s attack on Mystacor, Adora just wants to relax, but that’s hard to do when it’s all her fault. (Adora, Glimmer, Bow)

Parting Strands - Looking out for each other had been their thing, but Adora’s starting to suspect that’s over. Her thoughts during that scene in “Promise.” (Adora, Catra)

The Good Soldier On the sliding scale between perfect soldier Adora and useless malcontent Catra, Lonnie was closer to the Adora end of the spectrum. How the hell had Catra made Force Captain before her? Catra was just going crash and burn and Lonnie? Lonnie would let her. (Lonnie, Catra, Team Horde)

She-Ra (Modesty) Shorts - Adora/Catra shorts written for the 3 Sentence Ficathon. (Adora/Catra)

A Song of Ice and Fire

The Return - Robb sends Theon home to Pyke. If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention. (Asha Greyjoy, Greyjoy family)

Stranger Things

Smurfete Principle - There can be more than one girl in the party. El and Max work things out at the Snow Ball. (Max, El)

Stranger Side of the Force - While watching Star Wars, El notices she and Vader have a lot in common. (El, Mike, Max, Lucas, Dustin, Will)

It Lingers - The Mind Flayer is gone, but El can still feel it clawing underneath her skin. (El, Joyce, Will, Jonathan) Date Night - Everyone and her mother seems to think they’re together and Robin’s getting pretty sick of it. (Robin, Steve, The Party)

Temeraire

Epistolary - Dear Lady Allendale….yours, etc., Emily Roland (Emily Roland)

Umbrella Academy

Heroes for Ghosts - Eudora waits for Diego and things at the hotel go very differently. (Klaus, Diego, Ben, Eudora, Hazel, Cha-Cha, Ghosts)

Peanut Butter and Marshmallows - Stuck in the apocalypse, Five reads about Vanya leaving him sandwiches. (Five, Delores)

Iconic - When Vanya learns Klaus is gay from an article in a teen magazine, she’s upset for more than a few reasons. (Vanya, Klaus) Feed Your Head - Three shitty things young Klaus did for drugs and one thing they did for him. (Klaus, Reginald, Grace) When Evil Rains - Umbrella Academy shorts (Klaus, Diego)

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Players Only Love You When They’re Playing - Coran kept staring at Romelle like she was walking miracle, but Allura couldn’t look at her without thinking of Lotor and his betrayal.

White Collar

Eyes on the Target (The Solid Ground Remix) - Peter asked her to keep an eye on Neal for him while he’s stuck in jail. It could be going better. Remix of Keep Your Feet on Solid Ground by frith_in_thorns. (Dianna Berrigan, Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke)

4 notes · View notes

afurst · 6 years

Text

On Being Right – Dialectic Two Step

A stranger who is an evangelical Christian has been sending a series of emails to me. According to his address, his name is Jeff. Jeff has offered some lengthy expositions touting evidence that Christianity is “right”. The latest edition offers an earnest four part treatment on the trustworthiness of the New Testament, the historicity of Jesus, and the virtue of miracle-claims and predictive prophecies. He or someone that he has quoted put a lot of effort into this essay.

I usually ignore emails like this. In fact my response to the first one was to request that he remove me from his list. Alas, it had no effect, they kept coming. I chose to respond to this latest message. In my response I’ve made an effort to be kind and respectful but I’m also careful to be clear that his efforts are lost on me.

His email can be found at the bottom of this post.

This is my response:

For what purpose do you send me these emails?

Why does a perspective require a defense?

What does the authenticity of a text inform us about loving our neighbors?

If Christianity or Buddhism or Atheism were false, would that change the fact that we benefit from mutual respect?

These academic exercises invite criticism and fact checking; mental accounting that is unrelated to the purpose of religion. They also invite suspicion from those of us who distrust the religious instinct to indoctrinate.

If you seek the satisfaction of being right, I wish you luck.

If you seek to change someone’s mind, I recommend convincing them to turn from violence to peace; from malice to empathy, from ignorance to wisdom. What do we gain from establishing religious authority but oppression?

A Meditation

I consider this a meditation. When I first started reading Jeff’s email (below), I went into critic mode. I was tearing through the text, finding ironies and falsehoods, circular reasoning and other fallacies. But the shear volume of it seemed daunting. Would I spend two hours methodically shredding Jeff’s email, working my self into a frenzy? Or could I avoid that mess and even turn it into something good?

Something clicked. What would a cold and logically precise demolition of an evangelists beliefs accomplish? I’d loose a few hours. We might go back and forth on email pointing out each others errors. One of us could resort to ad hominem attacks and spiral further and further from civil discourse. All of this in the hopes of somehow being right! All of this completely removed from the goal of religion – union with the divine.

The mystery of the divine escapes words, descriptions, or labels. Arguing about the words, descriptions, and labels is about as productive as pushing the wind. It leads to agitation, anger, and alienates us from the experience of the divine.

I was lucky this time around (I think). I didn’t stray from my beliefs, I delivered my message respectfully, and I didn’t get riled up. I also don’t think I insulted Jeff. I call that a win! Call me after my 2 hours of reclaimed peace are done!

Jeff’s email

Positive Defense of the Christian Perspective

Email from [email protected]

A. The Trustworthiness of the New Testament

The New Testament has better manuscript evidence than any other ancient book.

There are over 5,000 New Testament manuscripts and portions of manuscripts. By comparison, the majority of classical works have less than 20 manuscripts.

The dates of the New Testament manuscripts are close to the original writings. One Gospel fragment (Ryland’s) dates about 25 years after the Gospel of John and most of the New Testament (Chester Beatty and Bodmer Papyri) from 50-150 years after the originals. Most classical works date from 700 – 1400 years after the originals.

None of the canonical New Testament is lost or missing. By comparison, 107 of Livy’s 142 books of history have been lost and about one half of Tacitus’ 30 books of Annals and Histories is missing.

Good arguments can be given that each of the Gospels was either written by an eyewitness, or significantly influenced by firsthand testimony, as recognized by many contemporary scholars.

Even without proving eyewitness authorship, the Gospels measure up well by normal historical standards used in ancient historiography.

The Gospel are trustworthy sources, as explained by A.M. Hunter

These Christian authors, like their Jewish counterparts, were careful to preserve traditional material.

The Gospels are close to eyewitness sources.

The Gospel authors were honest reporters.

The picture of Jesus presented in the four Gospels is virtually the same (see Archibald M. Hunter, Bible and Gospel, 32-37).

The Gospels and Acts exhibit a specific interest in reporting historical facts, not mythology. This is especially the case when the life of Jesus is reported.

Contemporary historians frequently opposed the application of radical criticism to New Testament studies. According to A.N. Sherwin-White and Michael Grant, such attacks fail at a number of crucial points (see A.N. Sherman-White, Roman Society, 186-193; Grant, Jesus: An Historian Review, pp. 179-184, 199-201).

Numerous ancient works exhibit intentions and methodologies similar to that of the New Testament authors, and yet these ancient works are well accredited as historical works.

There are no ancient writings in the category that radical critics place the Gospels.

New Testament books such as Acts have been largely confirmed by external test of historicity.

The Gospel and Acts were recognized as inspired books almost immediately after being written (see J.B. Lightfoot,The Apostolic Fathers).

1 Timothy 5:18 quotes Luke 10:7 and refers to it as “Scripture.”

Clement of Rome (about AD 95) speaks of the “Gospel” and quotes portions found in all three synoptic Gospels, referring to them as the words of Jesus (Corinthians 13,46).

Ignatius (Smyrnaeans 3) and Polycarp (Philippians 2, 7), both writing about AD 115, refer to verses in the synoptic Gospels as the words of Christ.

Paul’s epistles were also recognized as inspired Scripture almost immediately after being written.

2 Peter 3:15-16 calls Paul’s epistles “Scripture.”

Clement of Roman (Corinthians 47), Ignatius (Ephesians 10; to Polycarp 5), and Polycarp (Philippians 1,3-4, 6) all refer to Paul’s writings as inspired

B. The Historicity of Jesus

The trustworthy Gospels (A above) exhibit much interest in the historical Jesus and give accurate accounts of his life, death, and resurrection.

Numerous pre- and extra biblical sources record much ancient testimony concerning Jesus within 125 years after his death.

Early Christian creeds that pre-date the New Testament, as well as the historical facts that virtually all critical scholars admit, provide an extremely strong case for the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Archaeology contributes a few finds that illuminate and provide background for Jesus’ career, such as the crucifixion victims investigated by archaeologist Vasilius Tzaferis, “Jewish Tombs At and Near Giv’at ha-Mivtar,” Israel Exploration Journal 20 (1970), pp. 38-59.

Also the Shroud of Turin (Historically proclaimed to be the actual burial garment of Jesus). See Ian Wilson, The Shroud of Turin (New York: Doubleday, 1978, also see John Heller, Report on the Shroud of Turin (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983), especially chapters 12-14.

Secular historians (e.g. Cornelius Tacitus, Gaius Suetonius Tranquillas), government officials (e.g. Piny the Younger, Emperor Trajan), religious works (e.g. The Talmud, Toledoth Jesu, and other sources report many details about Jesus from non-Christian viewpoints.

Ancient Christian sources preserve a number of historical statements about Jesus (e.g. Clement of Rome, Ignatius, Justin Martyr).

To reject Jesus’ miracles a priori is to ignore correct inductive procedure where all the facts are investigated before a decision is made.

To reject Jesus’ doctrinal teachings a priori as valid for today is to pick and choose portions of the Gospels. Further, If Jesus was raised from the dead, there is, at a minimum, some implied significance for Jesus’ teachings, as well.

Without a significant historical basis in the life of Jesus, Christianity would have had no impetus for its origins.

Jesus died on the cross, as indicated by several facts.

The nature of crucifixion, including the discovery of Yohanan’s skeleton, reveals both the nature and assurance of death by this method.

The explanation of Jesus’ heart wound indicates that it would have killed him even if he had been alive.

The death of Jesus is the most recorded event in ancient, non-Christian history.

The trustworthy Gospels give accurate accounts of Jesus’ death.

After his death, Jesus was raised bodily and appeared to his followers.

Naturalistic hypothesis that have sought to explain in normal terms the supernatural element of Jesus’ resurrection have failed to do so, chiefly because they are refuted by the known historical data. Several other reasons also indicate this failure.

There are numerous positive evidences for the resurrection that indicate that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to many of those who followed him.

A case for the resurrection can be built by using only those minimal facts that are clearly established by the historical method. On a smaller scale, these facts can refute the alternative hypotheses and provide the best evidences for the resurrection.

The Shroud of Turin may supply some additional scientific evidence of Jesus’ resurrection.

Jesus’ message was not changed by Paul or by other followers.

In both the synoptics, as well as in John, Jesus claimed to be deity. Often this was done by his words, such as his claims to be Son of God and Son of Man (c.f. Mark 2:10-11; 10:45; 13:32; 14:36). At other times he showed his deity by his actions, such as forgiven sin, fulfilling Old Testament messianic prophecy and by claiming authority much greater than that of the Jewish leaders (see Mark 2:1-12; Matthew 5;20-48; cf. Isaiah 9:6-7).

Numerous pre-Pauline creeds such as Philippians 2:6-11, Romans 1:3-4, 1 Corinthians 11:23, and many from the book of Acts designate Jesus by the loftiest titles, thereby indicating the early teaching of his deity. These show further that this doctrine definitely did not originate with Paul.

Neither Jesus nor Paul taught that Christianity was a new religion. Both held that Christianity was a fulfillment of Judaism (see Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:16-17; Romans 10:4:9-11; Colossians 2:16-17).

Jesus’ central teaching of the Kingdom of God and its entrance requirements of faith in his person and teachings in found in all four Gospels (c.f. Mark 1:14-15; Matthew 18:3-6; Luke 18:28-30; John 1:10-13) and in Paul’s epistles (c.f. Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).

Paul was known as the apostle to the Gentiles (see Acts 9:15;16; 22:21; Romans 11:13-14). Not only did Jesus command his disciples to take the gospel to the Gentiles (see Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 24:47; John 10:16; Acts 1:8), but this was actually a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, not a new doctrine (see Genesis 12:3; Isaiah 19:18-25 for two examples).

Since Jesus literally rose from the dead, any verification of the truthfulness of his teachings would even extend to Paul’s message and writings, since they are in agreement with the Gospels at these points.

Jesus was not an international traveler during his “silent years” or after his death.

There is no viable historical evidence for such international ventures.

The swoon theory fails and is rejected by critical scholars.

These endeavors almost always involved a long trail of illogic and incredibly mysterious connections.

C. Miracle-claims

Although many would place miracle-claims completely in the realm of faith, such is to ignore their possibly objective theistic and historical nature.

If it is taught that miraculous events have occurred in history, as in the case with New Testament miracle-claims, then at least the objective, historical side of such a claim can be investigated. In other words, if it actually happened, at least the portion of the event that touched the space-time world can potentially be examined.

In the New Testament, the resurrection of Jesus is not only the central tenet Christianity, but it is asserted that if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then faith in actually in vain (1 Corinthians 15:1-20). Paul even supports his point that Jesus was raised by citing eyewitnesses, historical testimony to this fact (vv. 5-8). Under these circumstances, one could hardly claim that objective, factual interests in the resurrection are foreign to the New Testament.

This objection also commits errors that are associated with the “leap of faith.” If carried to its logical conclusion, it provides no objective basis for faith, including any reasons why faith should be exercised at all. As such, it is difficult to distinguish between belief and credulity.

Alternative theories that have been proposed to account for Jesus’ resurrection on naturalistic grounds have failed to account for the known historical facts.

There are many strong historical reasons to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead.

The disciples’ experiences

The transformation of the disciples into bold witnesses

The empty tomb

The resurrection of Jesus was the very center of the apostolic message.

The Jewish leaders could not disprove their message.

The very existence and growth of the church.

In this resurrected physical body Jesus appeared to more than five hundred of his disciples on twelve different occasions over a forty-day period and conversed with them (see Luke 24:13-49, 1 Corinthians 15:5-7, Acts 1:4-8, Matthew 28:1-10, John 20:24-31).

This was the greatest of all miracles since the creation itself, and could have been accomplished only if Jesus indeed is God, as He had claimed to be.

D Predictive Prophecies

Consider the following predictions made centuries in advanced that Jesus would be:

born of a woman (Genesis 3:15; cf. Galatians 4:4);

born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; cf. Matthew 1:21);

“cut off” (die) 483 years after the declaration to reconstruct the city of Jerusalem in 444 C. (Daniel 9:24);

of the seed of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3 and 22:18; cf. Mathew 1:1);

of the tribe of Judah (Genesis 49:10, cf. Luke 3:23);

of the house of David (2 Samuel 7:12; cf. Matthew 1:1);

born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; cf. Matthew 2:1);

anointed by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; cf. Mattthew 3:16-17);

that Jesus would performed miracles (Isaiah 35:5-6; cf. Matthew 9:35);

would cleanse the temple (Malachi 3:1; cf. Matthew 21:12);

would be rejected by Jews (Psalms 118:22; cf. 1 Peter 2:7);

die a humiliating death (Psalms 22; cf. Matthew 9:35);

that he would rise from the dead (Psalm 2:7 and 16:10; cf. Acts 2:31)

ascended into heaven (Psalm 68:8; cf. Acts 1:9);

and sit at the right hand of God (Psalm 110:1; cf. Hebrew 1:3).

It is important to understand that these prophecies were written hundreds of years before Christ was born. No one could have been reading the trends of the times or just making intelligent guesses, like the “prophecies” we see in the checkout line at the supermarket.

The post On Being Right – Dialectic Two Step written by Andrew Furst appeared on Andrew Furst.

from On Being Right – Dialectic Two Step

#On Being Right – Dialectic Two Step

0 notes