Please don't become one of those 'religious nutjob' organisations, who give up critical thinking and basic integrity in order to promote their message.
Today I received an email message from our church stream advertising a 'bibleweek' (actually 5 days, hey ho - it's not all bad) that started with the following:
"When
Joshua and the tribes encountered the commander of the Lord’s army it was in
preparation to take a nation for Christ"
It's as though we're back to the old Sunday School joke about the answer to the teachers question - it may have floppy ears and a fluffy tail, but you know it's still Jesus. My ghast is completely fabbered - a couple of hours on, I can't believe anyone who had actually read the original passage to which this is connected could write that. I have politely emailed my astonishment to them, and if anything illuminating appears, will report it here.
On second thoughts, perhaps it was cleared by the leader of their huddle, so that's alright then. [8¬O
I really wonder about this Christian faith business.
I also wonder about the Christian faith, too. But not the whole thing. Just certain groups and ways of thinking.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, that Joshua quote comes at a time when we'll be looking at that passage in our high school Bible study. If not this time, then next meeting. It's filled with mystery, quite frankly. (You are probably aware of this, of course.) Joshua asks the man, who identifies himself as the commander of the Lord's army, if he is for Israel or for their enemies. And the commander says, "Neither."
I'm not sure if that has anything to say about that quote you mention or not.
""Joshua asks the man, who identifies himself as the commander of the Lord's army, if he is for Israel or for their enemies. And the commander says, "Neither.""
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be lots of songs around about God 'being on our side' and fighting our battles at the moment. I wonder what Joshua would have made of them in the context of this meeting, assuming it happened as recorded.
Yes, the meeting is mysterious to us, though as much as anything I suspect it was to correct and shape Joshua's understanding of the situation. Especially important in the light of Israel being on the verge of going in to commit sanctioned genocide (perhaps not quite taking the nation for Jesus in the way that the email seemed to suggest) and a need to understand it wasn't just for their sake and profit.