What if I told you that you can take the Bible seriously but not literally? I’m Rev Darcy, a Universalist pastor from rural Alabama, and I’m inviting you on a journey with me through the Bible where we’ll dive deep into all of the drama without the spiritual trauma. Come with me to learn about just how much you are loved, just as you are in this moment, as we spend the next eleven minutes in heaven.
Listen to what the Spirit is saying to you through this sacred word from 1 John 4:7-8, “Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love” (CEB).
Hello Beloved, I’m Rev. Darcy (she/hers), and I am so pleased you’ve decided to spend another eleven minutes in heaven with me. Today, we will begin the third part of our brief introduction to the Bible that is laying the foundation for our time together each week. Let’s dive in to the three worlds of the New Testament text to see how the New Testament writers wove together Jesus’ teachings of love, rooted in the Hebrew Scriptures’ narrative of God’s liberation of and faithfulness to God’s people, to become the New Testament.
Sermon Note: Want to dive even deeper or check my claims? I recommend The Bible: An Introduction (3rd Edition) by Jerry L. Sumney (ISBN-13: 978-1506466781). Available at your local bookseller and online.
The World Behind the Text: A Lot of Letters Based on an Oral Tradition
Okay, let’s look at the world behind the text, that is, its cultural context. The written New Testament is written primarily to a Greco-Roman audience largely by Jewish Christians to explain the Jewishness of Jesus’ teachings and translate them into livable truths for Greco-Roman Christians. It makes sense, therefore, that the earliest books of the New Testament are the epistles— most written between 48 and 70 CE— which explain the significance of the stories about Jesus and his teachings shared orally by his followers. The Gospels were written later— between 70 and 110 CE— once first generation Christians started to die, allowing for concrete Gospel narratives for future generations of Christians. Each Gospel tells the stories in a slightly different way because they are written by and two different cultural sub-groups of Christians. Like the Hebrew Scriptures, the Gospels should not be read as historically or scientifically accurate narratives but rather as theological narratives containing deep spiritual meaning and lasting truths. Similarly, the epistles should not be read as universal instructions but culturally-specific applications of Jesus’ teachings that can still be useful— if not binding— today.
Sermon Note: Not all of the epistles, or letters, attributed to Paul were actually written by him! Scholars generally agree he wrote Galatians, Romans, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, Philemon, Philippians, and 1 Thessalonians. Many scholars see the epistles of 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus as pseudepigraphic, meaning they were written by Paul’s students and attributed to him— a common practice in the first century Roman world. Scholars disagree on whether or not Paul wrote 2nd Thessalonians, Ephesians and Colossians. While widely attributed to Paul, most scholars agree Paul did not write Hebrews. Of the general epistles, those not attributed to Paul, it is generally agreed that James the brother of Jesus wrote James, Peter wrote 1st Peter, and a man named John wrote 1st John. The remaining Epistles— 2nd Peter and 2nd and 3rd John are probably pseudepigraphic. John of Patmos is believed to have written Revelation, but as you’ll hear next week Revelation almost didn’t make it into the Bible (and probably shouldn’t have in my humble opinion).
The World of The Text: One World Ends, Another World Begins
Now onto the world of the text, or the linguistic and grammatical context. Just as the Hebrew Scriptures were written during a period of intense sociopolitical conflict, the New Testament was written during a time when the world of its characters was ending and another world was beginning. The Christian tradition is grounded in Judaism, and the earliest followers of Jesus were Jews who primarily spoke Aramaic in common speech. So the original words of Jesus and stories told about Jesus were spoken in Aramaic. As Christianity spread outside of the regions around Jerusalem— the epicenter of the first century Jewish world— these stories were translated from Aramaic into Koine Greek which was the common language of the Roman Empire. This was the language that New Testament was ultimately written in. The Jewish World, as Jews knew it, ended in 70 CE when the Roman Empire destroyed the Jerusalem Temple and scattered the Jewish people across Europe, Asia, and Africa to diffuse their power to resist Roman rule. Concurrent with this the New Testament story became more infused with Greco-Roman culture. Regardless, the theme of liberation and faithfulness of the Hebrew Scriptures, amplified in the teachings of Jesus and the interpretation of those teachings by Paul, remains infused in the language of the New Testament.
The World in Front of the Text: Rogue and Countercultural to White Christian Nationalism
The world in front of the text, the way in which the text has been received across the last two thousand years, is a fascinating, yet painful, arc from rogue and countercultural to White Christian nationalism. Early readers of the New Testament would have been astounded by two key themes which undermined everything Greco-Roman society was built on. The first most astounding thing about the language of the New Testament is the personal, compassionate, consistent, and paternal relationship between God and humankind— a stark contrast to the distant, selfish, chaotic, and cold relationship between the Greek pantheon and humankind. The second most astounding thing about the language of the New Testament is the equality of humankind before one another and before God. While not always apparent because of the sarcastic language of Paul lost on twenty-first century audiences, the fact that Christianity remained an outlawed religion until the late fourth century is a testament to how subversive it, and its scriptures, was to the strict hierarchy of Roman religion, politics, and society. The shift from rogue to ruin began when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. Emperor Constantine embarked on a policy of Hellenization, consistent with what Rome had done with the Greek religion and culture, and appropriated the Christian narrative and tradition into Greek religion and society. Thus, the interpretation of the New Testament, from the late fourth century until today, has been one for empire, not against. For rigid distinction between class, gender, and ethnicity, not against. For violent enforcement of Christian beliefs and norms, against it.
Sermon Note: For an excellent socio-rhetorical commentary on Paul’s writing, I recommend the work of Dr. Ben Witherington, III.
Conclusion
Beloved, if you are still listening I am going to assume that you are as concerned as I am about how the sacred words the Judeo-Christian tradition have been hijacked and used to reinforce and protect everything Jesus opposed. I know its disheartening and scary to see something that is so meaningful to us be used in such a bad way. I am going to cling to our sacred word for today: “God is love” (1 John 4:8b, CEB). God loves us, and if we would know who God is all we need to do is love. Love God, love ourselves, and love one another if Jesus is to be believed. We love God by doing our utmost to understand who God is, and a great way to do that is dive below the surface of the scriptures to look for the sacred and timeless truths contained within. We love ourselves and our neighbors by embracing those truths— that God loves us just as we are, God is faithful to us no matter what, and that God will liberate us from the power of evil that is constantly telling us to look at our spiritual, intellectual, emotional, and relational nakedness and feel ashamed because we are not perfect. This is how we bring Christianity back to its roots. Thank you for loving God, yourself, and your neighbor enough to join me on this journey. Thank you for trusting me. I love you.
Next week on Eleven Minutes in Heaven we will uncover how committees of the church over several centuries decided which books were and were not legit. You might be shocked to learn that there is no unified Bible across Christian traditions. If you are enjoying Eleven Minutes in Heaven I invite you to subscribe to my Substack. There, you will find my sermon notes for Eleven Minutes in Heaven, other sermons I’ve preached, and my spicy takes on current events in my blog, Tea and Scandal. If you choose to become a paid subscriber, you gain access to additional features and content and ensure that I can continue my public, parish, and community ministries.
Beloved, go about your day knowing you are loved more than you could ever ask or imagine. Be kind to yourself and to one another. Have a snack, and take a nap. Above all, dwell in peace. May it be.
Eleven Minutes in Heaven is © Copyright 2024 Darcy Corbitt, LLC, PO Box 23, Camp Hill, AL 36850. Support Rev. Darcy and gain access to even more content by becoming a paid subscriber at revdarcy.substack.com/subscribe.
All scripture quotations come from the COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE which is © Copyright 2011 COMMON ENGLISH BIBLE. All rights reserved. Used by permission. (www.CommonEnglishBible.com).
Music included in this podcast is by Julius H used under the Pixabay Content License.
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