What a great last class.. I will really miss you all.
Look forward to some great Philemon papers in my email soon!
--
.Class vote results:
When Jesus died, he:
A) died naked (but not in Christian art and movies) to subvert shame
I am not here to offend anyone unnecessarily.But I believe Corrie Ten Boom was right and right on:
Jesus died naked.
Even the (very conservative) Dallas Theological commentaries assume this, so this is not just some "liberal" agenda:
"That Jesus died naked was part of the shame which He bore for our sins. " -link
Which means this picture
(found on a blog with no credit)
is likely wrong(Jesus looks too white).
...and largely right (What Jesus is wearing).
I answered a question about this a few years ago, I would write it a bit differently know, but here it is:
First of all, it is probable that (again, contrary to nearly all artwork and movies), Jesus hung on the cross absolutely naked. This was a typical way of crucifixion, to increase the shame factor. Romans might occasionally add a loincloth type of garment as a token concession and nod to Jewish sensitivity; but not very often, it would seem. Of course, once we get past the emotive and cultural shock of imagining Jesus naked, we realize that if He indeed die naked, the symbolism is profound and prophetic: In Scripture, Jesus is called the "Second Adam". As such, it would make sense that He died "naked and unashamed." We are also told that "cursed is he who dies on a tree." The nakedness was a sign and enfolding of shame and token of curse. And the wonderful story of Corrie ten Boom and family, told in the book and movie "The Hiding Place," relates. One of the turning points of her ability to endure the Ravensbruck concentration camp, particularly the shame of walking naked past the male guards, was her conviction that Jesus too was shamed and stripped naked before guards. "Finally, it dawned on me," she preached once," that this (shaming through nakedness) happened to Jesus too..., and Jesus is my example, and now it is happening to me, then I am simply doing what Jesus did." She concluded, "I know that Jesus gave me that thought and it gave me peace. It gave me comfort and I could bear the shame and cruel treatment."
continued
Stephen Seamands, in "Wounds That Heal," (much of it a free read here) stirs me to wonder if shaming is always perpetrated in two stages:
1)forced/involuntary/public nakedness (literal or emotional) nakedness of soul may be even worse)
2)the promise of continued shaming beyond death (by dishonoring our name after we are gone, or sending us to hell in the afterlife ).
Seamands quotes the most important theologian you have never heard of, Frank Lake,
and that section reminds how vital it might be to doggedly defend the
doctrine (that most evangelicals seem to think is unspeakable.... even
though as we mentionedh very conservative Dallas Seminary professors claim it is necessary, let alone Martin Hengel in his classic book "Crucifixion)"that
Jesus died completely naked...especially that he might completely
identify with, incarnate; convert and subvert our shame, particularly of
sexual abuse or memories:Crucifixions were purposely carried out in public..Executioners heightened the shame by turning the gruesome personal ordeal into grisly public entertainment.. In most paintings, films and artistic depictions, the crucified figure of Jesus is partially covered with a loincloth. But in the ancient world, the victim was always crucified naked. The shameful exposure often continued after death since it was common for the victim to be denied burial.. Hengel explains, ...'What it meant for man in antiquity to be refused burial, and the dishonor that went with it, can hardly be appreciated by modern man.' ...Frank Lake expresses the truth powerfully in describing Christ's experience of shame in nakedness: 'He hangs on the Cross naked. Both the innocent who were not loved and the guilty who have spurned love are ashamed. Both have something to hide. Clothing is the symbol of hiding what we are ashamed to reveal. In His own innocence He is identified with the innocent in nakedness...He was so deprived of His natural clothing of transfigured beauty and glory that men, seeing Him thus, shrank away from Him. The whole world will see this King appearing in all beauty and glory, because He allowed both..to be utterly taken away.' -Seamands, pp 49-50More posts on Jesus dying naked? See:.
"The Last Temptation of Movie Boycotters,"
That some well-meaning folks suggest we should never mention his nakedness,
that doing so is so wrong as to be satanic...
that we should fear thinking about genitalia,
is represented here:
That he may have been naked is as about as important as what kind of nails were used to nail him there. Copper? Bronze? Iron? Who cares?! Was the crown of thorns made of Briar thorns or Thistle? Who cares?Of course, I feel for this position, and am aware that the naked Jesus doctrine could be terribly abused...But I fear that ironically, it may be crucial to recover/uncover.
Did Jesus die? Who cares? (Bear with me).
Did Jesus lay down his life willingly and by his own power, and then take it back up again just as willingly and just as powerfully? THAT is the point.
Don't get distracted by images of genetalia! [sic] And let's face it; as soon as you hear someone say "Jesus died naked on a cross", that's the first thing that pops into your carnal, fleshly, sinful mind. As soon as you hear it, you are IMMEDIATELY distracted.
That man who is telling you that may not know that he's being used as a servant of Satan; but he is.
-link
It may not be a "required doctrine,"....but..
Anyway..
Several pages later, Seamands, in a
discussion on the practical relevance of the Trinity (Note:see his entire wonderful book on this important topic):'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?' On the cross, Christ gave expression not only to his own sorrow and disappointment, and ours, but also to God's...At the foot of the cross, our mournful cries of lament are always welcome...More on the dynamics of God forsaking God here, and more on the trinitarian centrality of all this by clicking the "trinity" label below this post.
...This cry is the only place in the gospels where Jesus didn't address God with the personal, intimate, 'My Father,'...
..On the cross, the bonds of trust between the Father and the Son seem to disintegrate. As theologian Jurgen Moltmann says,'The love that binds the one to the other is transformed into a dividing curse.'....Yet at the cross, the Father and the Son are never more united, never more bound together. They are one in their surrender, one in their self-giving. The Father surrenders the Son...The Son, in turn, surrenders himself...So {they} are united even in their separation, held together by their oneness of will and purpose
-Seamands, 67-68
Finally, Seamands helps me grasp that Jesus died not only for our shame, but our rage
(rage, of course, is often enacted as a reaction to shame). Rage, ironically, is what literally killed Jesus (and shamed him into nakedness):
Christ became the innocent, willing victim of their rage. But not only their [those at the cross] rage -ours too. Frank Lake is right: 'We attended the Crucifixion in our crowds, turned on our Healer..' -Seamands, 69Which of course, leads to Jesus healing us precisely when we deserve it least and need it most.
Naked and (un)ashamed.
-------
More:
B)subverted empire:
The early Christian church, living as an
- alternative
- counter-cultural
- Upside Down Kingdom
community and communitas (within the Matrix/ Roman Empire; in but not of it)
had to decide how to respond to the empire/emperors.
Here below are two "literary/historical world" examples of one of their key responses:
Subvert/satirize it.
(How do you compare this response to culture/government/empire
to those of the Pharisees,Sadducces, Zealots and Romans
a)The Crucifixion/Resurrection accounts in the gospels:
Especially in Mark, the "Literary world" styling and "Historical world" background ofJesus' crucifixion scene seems set up to satirize empire, and encourage subversion. Here is a summary below from Shane Claiborne's book, "Jesus For President":
Coronation and Procession (8 steps):
1. Caesar: The Praetorian guard (six thousand soldiers) gathered in the Praetorium. The would-be Caesar was brought into the middle of the gathering.
1. Jesus: Jesus was brought to the Praetorium in Jerusalem. And the whole company of soldiers (at least two hundred) gathered there.
-----------------
2. Caesar: A purple robe was placed on the candidate. They were also given an olive-leaf wreath made of gold and a sceptre for the authority of Rome.
2. Jesus: Soldiers brought Jesus a wreath (of thorns), a sceptre (an old stick), and a purple robe.
-------------------
3. Caesar: Caesar was loudly acclaimed as triumphant by the Praetorian Guard.
3. Jesus: Sarcastically, the soldiers acclaimed, mocked, and paid homage to Jesus.
----------------
4. Caesar: A procession through the streets began. Caesar walked with a sacrificial bull and a slave with an axe to kill the bull behind him.
4. Jesus: The procession began. But instead of a bull the would-be king and god became the sacrifice and Simon of Cyrene was to carry the cross.
----------------
5. Caesar: The procession moved to the highest hill in Rome, the Capitolene hill (‘head hill’).
5. Jesus: Jesus was led up to Golgotha (in Aramaic ‘head hill’).
----------------
6. Caesar: The candidate stood before the temple altar and was offered a bowl of wine mixed with myrrh, which he was to refuse. The wine was then poured onto the bull and the bull was then killed.
6. Jesus: He was offered wine, and he refused. Right after, it is written, “And they crucified him.”
----------------
7. Caesar: The Caesar-to-be gathered his second in command on his right hand and his third on his left.
7. Jesus: Next came the account of those being crucified on his right and left.
----------------
8. Caesar: The crowd acclaimed the inaugurated emperor. And for the divine seal of approval, the gods would send signs, such as a flock of doves or a solar eclipse.
8. Jesus: He was again acclaimed (mocked) and a divine sign confirmed God’s presence (the temple curtain ripped in two). Finally, the Roman guard, who undoubtedly pledged allegiance to Caesar, the other ‘Son of God’, was converted and acclaimed this man as the Son of God.
----------------------
This extraordinary symbolism would have been unmistakable to the first readers of the Gospel. The crown of thorns, the purple robe, the royal staff; the whole section leading up to the crucifixion reads like the coronation of Jesus! At the apex of this passage is the Roman Centurion’s exclamation that “Surely this man was the Son of God!” He saw how Jesus died and became the first evangelist. His realisation tears apart his whole view of the world and reveals the fallacy of earthly empire and the nature of the true King.
Mark is trying to show us where our allegiance should lie. At the foot of the cross, when even those that Jesus loved must have been bewildered (only failed Messiahs hung on crosses), a Roman Centurion proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God! The journey to the cross was the final coronation of the Son of God, the rightful King, who in the cross defeated sin and death.
-Link: Shapevine
BONUS:
- Here's a Ray VanDer Laan article that Shane Claiborne drew from in the coronation article above..
- Here is a podcast interview Keltic Ken and I did with Shane Claiborne.
Book of Revelation:
Here below is a Rob Bell sermon that presents the book of Revelation as subversion of empire; many do not realize that the "historical world" of this book has much to do with persecution by emperors for not worshipping them:
1. Caesar: The Praetorian guard (six thousand soldiers) gathered in the Praetorium. The would-be Caesar was brought into the middle of the gathering.
1. Jesus: Jesus was brought to the Praetorium in Jerusalem. And the whole company of soldiers (at least two hundred) gathered there.
-----------------
2. Caesar: A purple robe was placed on the candidate. They were also given an olive-leaf wreath made of gold and a sceptre for the authority of Rome.
2. Jesus: Soldiers brought Jesus a wreath (of thorns), a sceptre (an old stick), and a purple robe.
-------------------
3. Caesar: Caesar was loudly acclaimed as triumphant by the Praetorian Guard.
3. Jesus: Sarcastically, the soldiers acclaimed, mocked, and paid homage to Jesus.
----------------
4. Caesar: A procession through the streets began. Caesar walked with a sacrificial bull and a slave with an axe to kill the bull behind him.
4. Jesus: The procession began. But instead of a bull the would-be king and god became the sacrifice and Simon of Cyrene was to carry the cross.
----------------
5. Caesar: The procession moved to the highest hill in Rome, the Capitolene hill (‘head hill’).
5. Jesus: Jesus was led up to Golgotha (in Aramaic ‘head hill’).
----------------
6. Caesar: The candidate stood before the temple altar and was offered a bowl of wine mixed with myrrh, which he was to refuse. The wine was then poured onto the bull and the bull was then killed.
6. Jesus: He was offered wine, and he refused. Right after, it is written, “And they crucified him.”
----------------
7. Caesar: The Caesar-to-be gathered his second in command on his right hand and his third on his left.
7. Jesus: Next came the account of those being crucified on his right and left.
----------------
8. Caesar: The crowd acclaimed the inaugurated emperor. And for the divine seal of approval, the gods would send signs, such as a flock of doves or a solar eclipse.
8. Jesus: He was again acclaimed (mocked) and a divine sign confirmed God’s presence (the temple curtain ripped in two). Finally, the Roman guard, who undoubtedly pledged allegiance to Caesar, the other ‘Son of God’, was converted and acclaimed this man as the Son of God.
----------------------
This extraordinary symbolism would have been unmistakable to the first readers of the Gospel. The crown of thorns, the purple robe, the royal staff; the whole section leading up to the crucifixion reads like the coronation of Jesus! At the apex of this passage is the Roman Centurion’s exclamation that “Surely this man was the Son of God!” He saw how Jesus died and became the first evangelist. His realisation tears apart his whole view of the world and reveals the fallacy of earthly empire and the nature of the true King.
Mark is trying to show us where our allegiance should lie. At the foot of the cross, when even those that Jesus loved must have been bewildered (only failed Messiahs hung on crosses), a Roman Centurion proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God! The journey to the cross was the final coronation of the Son of God, the rightful King, who in the cross defeated sin and death.
-Link: Shapevine -----------------
One of my seminary professors, the right-brain and right-on Chuck Killian, in a "Storytelling and Preaching" class, had us make collages...ripping out any pictures or text that got our attention from magazines, and assembling collages. Of course, it was hilarious to see all the distinguished graduate theological students walking the halls of academia with..not a two-ton stack of theological texts..but collages (I think we even had homework involving crayons once!): "Oh, you're in Killian's class, I see!," the smirking passersby would goodnaturedly tease. But what other seminary assignment do all of us still remember vividly..and what other assignments from seminary were "off the wall" enough to still be literally somewhere on our wallsl these years later? It was a creative way to get in touch with ourselves, our spiritual life, our darkest demons, wildest hopes...and our dreams.
We would simply wander around the impromptu art studio and ask a brother or sister, "Tell me about your collage." And we listened, and learned. It was sacred. Each collage was like an X-ray of the person's soul; fears; dreams.
Some interesting questions were: Why is every white space on your backdrop covered, while your husband's collage had tons of white space/room between pictures? Does this picture you chose remind you of someone you know? Some intriguing observations: a variety of styles (meticulously angled pictures vs. random). And some artistic choices were fairly obvious to unpack. For example, It doesn't take a rocket scientist, or trained pyschoanlayst to discern that peole often placed images/text relating to their central heart-commitments (Christ, family) in the center of their collage.
I have not been able to google the source on this next part of the "collage interpretation," (or hardly anything on this type of collage, period..except for maybe this),
so maybe it was Chuck Killian's own. But he suggeted that we might unconsciously divide our collage into four quadrants, with
each quadrant possibly representing images/impressions from different seasons of one's life. He suggested that the lower left may be where people place images reminding them of their
]past; the upper right, their present; lower right, near future; and upper left, far future. Now this is not to be an infallible Freudian grid, or some kind of holy Rorshach test, but I have always founded that this grid has validity in many cases, and in a few cases radically connects dots...even changed lives as tears and memories flowed. Again, not that this overlay is perfectly prophetic, but it is worth putting into the mix.
-----
Book recommend:
Some books seem impossible to review...other than to say they are amazing, make my top ten list., and everyone should own it.
Such is the case with "Jesus: A Theography," by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, a book that creates a word...and a genre.
I don't know where to start, so I'll start at the beginning...and the end.
Book recommend:
"Jesus: A Theography"
Such is the case with "Jesus: A Theography," by Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, a book that creates a word...and a genre.
I don't know where to start, so I'll start at the beginning...and the end.
- The intro..It's free read online. (Click here to Read introduction)
- The footnotes: absolutely amazing...a book unto itself.
And the middle:
- The entire book was checked by the master, Craig Keener...and they took all his suggestions! That alone would make it a six (out of five) star book.
I an tempted to turn it up to eleven,
but I'll give it a ten..
Buy the book already..
Through the prophet Isaiah, God spoke of the Temple as ?a house of prayer for all the nations? 
![]](http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6772/403/1600/collage1.jpg){kind=link}
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