Jon Foreman: Compassion vs. Consumption
Jon Foreman of Switchfoot fame writes an interesting article over at the Huffington Post. He basic point: we need to evaluate why we buy in our consumer society and redefine our ideas about wealth. Its a well written article that is intimate and thoughtful.
In my last post, I looked at the statement that Irenaeus made that Jesus was around 50 years old when He died. Today I want to look at this from a different angle. The Jesus Police suggested a good way to approximate the age of Jesus at death. There are certain markers that we know that were in place at the time of Jesus’ birth and death. By locating those markers in history, we can find out a date range for both his birth and death. Then using those date ranges, we can come up with an age range for Jesus at the time of His death.
Caesar Augustus (Luke 2:1) Ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD.
Census (Luke 2:1) A census occurred in 6 BC according to Josephus. Quirinius’ census occurred in 6-7 AD.
Herod (Matthew 2:1) Herod died in 4 BC.
Quirinius (Luke 2:2) Governor of Syria from 6-12 AD.
The Star of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:9) Various theories place the celestial occurrence between 12 and 2 BC.
Slaughter of the Innocents (Matthew 2:16) Unknown
It is generally accepted that Jesus was born sometime between 7 and 4 BC.
Tiberius (Luke 3:1) Tiberius reigned from 14-37 AD.
Based upon Tiberius’ reign and that John the Baptist began ministry when he was around 30 years old, Jesus was born around 1 BC.
Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:13) Governor from 26-36 AD.
Caiaphas (Matthew 26:3) High Priest from 18-37 AD.
Herod Antipas (Luke 23:7) Reigned from 4 BC to 39 AD.
The most likely year for Jesus’ death is 33 AD but other years have strong arguments for them.
Now let’s put it all together. The youngest Jesus could have been, based on the latest birthdate and earliest death date, was 20. This is highly unlikely since we know that He was 30 when He began His ministry. The oldest that Jesus could have been was 48. Again this is unlikely since it is based upon an astronomical occurrence and conjecture. The most likely age of Jesus at the time of His death is somewhere between 37 and 41 based upon the most probable dates of birth and death.
Personally, I lean toward the 41, not because I turn 41 this year, but because of the testimony of Irenaeus and John 8:47 which has the Jews questioning Jesus: "You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?" If the Jews knew the age of Jesus, why didn’t they choose to say “You are not yet 40”? My guess is that Jesus must have exceeded the age of 40 but had not reached 50.
Next:
Does the idea that Jesus was in ministry for 7-11 years versus 1-3 years in popular thought, change your view of Jesus and His ministry?
In dealing with the dates of his birth, there are some irreconcilable differences. Quirinius was not a ruler while Herod the Great as alive. Both play into the nativity narratives. What does this say about Biblical inerrancy? Did Luke goof?
I am new to patristic studies and so my question may be answered in Patristics 101. I was reading in Irenaeus that Jesus was over 50 years old when He died. From my Protestant background I had learned that He was 33 years old.
Here is the text that started me to think about this:
“CHAP. XXII.–THE THIRTY AEONS ARE NOT TYPIFIED BY THE FACT THAT CHRIST WAS BAPTIZED IN HIS THIRTIETH YEAR: HE DID NOT SUFFER IN THE TWELFTH MONTH AFTER HIS BAPTISM, BUT WAS MORE THAN FIFTY YEARS OLD WHEN HE DIED.
5. … For how could He have had disciples, if He did not teach? And how could He have taught, unless He had reached the age of a Master? For when He came to be baptized, He had not yet completed His thirtieth year, but was beginning to be about thirty years of age (for thus Luke, who has mentioned His years, has expressed it: "Now Jesus was, as it were, beginning to be thirty years old,"(13) when He came to receive baptism); and, [according to these men,] He preached only one year reckoning from His baptism. On completing His thirtieth year He suffered, being in fact still a young man, and who had by no means attained to advanced age. Now, that the first stage of early life embraces thirty years,(1) and that this extends onwards to the fortieth year, every one will admit; but from the fortieth and fiftieth year a man begins to decline towards old age, which our Lord possessed while He still fulfilled the office of a Teacher, even as the Gospel and all the elders testify…”
Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book II, Chapter XXII, section 5
Here are my questions:
For more discussion about Jesus’ age at death:
http://www.jesuspolice.com/common_error.php?id=18
Now I’m Surprised This Wasn’t Used As A Worship Song | internetmonk.com
What can I say. We won’t be using this at our church. But the humor and irony is almost painful.
Be sure to check this link from Don: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brewer_&_Shipley
I finished reading the Qur’an. Now for my thoughts… « Tad DeLay
Tad DeLay has some very good thoughts after having read the Qu’ran. Personally I have not read the Qu’ran but the way his post reads, Tad offers a very objective but Christian reading of the Qu’ran. I appreciate his willingness to see similarities between Islam and Christianity and at times defend Islam against our sound bite misinterpretations of Islamic scripture.
Tad brings some wonderful comparisons of Christian and Islamic fundamentalism that need some time to digest, though I think he is spot on. His thoughts about midrashim and Islamic teaching are worth some further investigation (by someone much wiser than me).
Please read the article (and future ones by Tad). What are your thoughts?
Call on Congress and conscience – Washington Times
Here, Walter Hoye offers his view of what happened to him on the streets of Oakland as he quietly offered an alternative to abortion. Next he went to Congress hoping to find some support for the cause. Read the article to see what he found.
I mean no disrespect to former President Carter by calling him by his first name. But his recent action has given me reason to be excited and has increased my respect and admiration of him. Jimmy Carter is leaving the SBC because of their stand on women’s equality. Eugene Cho has written a very nice piece about President Carter’s decision.
I applaud President Carter for his stand. From reading his statement, it appears that other leaders (“Elders”) have made a similar stand. We need to take this issue very seriously and work for a solution.
The Church of Jesus Christ should be at the forefront of this issue as we have been called to equality by our Savior, Jesus Christ and taught that equality by the Apostle Paul (among others). We need to reclaim the glorious gospel in all its beautiful aspects and reject inequality based upon a few proof texts and our male fears. May God lead us into the light on this issue.
Recently on a road trip, I was listening to some classic Christian music: Adam Again, Daniel Amos, Rich Mullins, Mark Heard. I began an out loud tirade about the current drought of Christian musicians who make relevant music. I miss the days of experimenting musically and lyrically. I long for the spiritual growth that I saw from album to album in some of the artists. Sure the production wasn’t as slick, sometimes the efforts were sophomoric. But there was growth and a willingness to try something new.
I tried to think of artists that are experimenting today. I came up with a few examples of artists who are still pushing the envelope. I included Derek Webb in my analysis. His latest offering, Stockholm Syndrome, has not disappointed this jaded Christian music listener.
Derek has taken his music in another new direction. I believe that it is the boldest and most creative direction that he has gone in. Taking up the electronica/ emo scene, he has crafted an album with sounds that have been unheard in the Christian scene. If you step back from the sound, the songs are definitely constructed like other Webb ventures. But if you listen to the production and instrumentation, this album has taken a decidedly different direction. With electronic dissonance and effects, the songs take on tension and other worldly quality.
Lyrically, Stockholm fits in the Webb body of work quite comfortably. Dealing with social justice, complacency, inconsistent Christian messages, democratic (in the idealized political form) themes and the occasional love song. Derek is a strong wordsmith and comes up with some incisive phrases. This is possibly some of his best writing.
Personally, Mockingbird is still my favorite album of Derek’s. It was the album that introduced me to him and gave me a radical new hope for Christian music. Stockholm Syndrome continues that legacy and broadens it. There are a few controversial phrases that use strong language. If that bothers you, still get the “clean” version of the album: it still has a lot to offer.
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My brother, Vern Miller, has recorded his first EP of worship songs. Based upon familiar texts used in Christian worship through the ages, the songs have a very contemporary feel to them. They serve nicely as a complement to contemporary services but also could be used in a more traditional service.
Biased as I may be, I find the EP to have a graceful, generous emotion. He mixes modern sensibilities with a timeless grasp of tradition. The feel (not necessarily the sound) reminds me of Taize or the City on a Hill series.
Take the time (and spare change) to download Canticles EP and support a worthy effort. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
Also, keep an eye open for the full length release. I believe that he has been recording some of it lately.
Technorati Tags: Canticles, Worship, Vern Miller, Christian, services, emotion, tradition, Taize, songs
Missio Dei has a video of N.T. Wright offering Biblical reasons that women were involved in early church ministry. This builds upon my growing belief in equal in all ways for women versus the “equal but different roles” of my past. We need to do church as the Gospel intends and Christ died for.
An interesting side note. N.T. Wright feels that the command for head coverings was more about gender differentiation than about authority. He says that women should look like women in church: they shouldn’t be disguised as men. Could he be referring to the idea that in Jewish society only men were allowed in synagogue? Thus if women were in the early Christian church services, they may have been instructed or felt compelled to disguise themselves as men – some residue from their Jewish faith. But Paul was encouraging the women to be fully women and unashamedly so. The idea being that Paul was again emancipating them from their inferior roles in society to one of equality. If this is true, this breathes new life into me.