tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4894764035439419656.post5594008678458557906..comments2024-01-07T00:04:51.972-08:00Comments on Humble Wonderful: Fred Lives!Tonyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07412650446530771853noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4894764035439419656.post-15035833052990237642013-03-31T16:25:57.124-07:002013-03-31T16:25:57.124-07:00Simon, You are right in saying that messiah is use...Simon, You are right in saying that messiah is used in this piece more liberally than others would. That is necessary to do justice to a few key concepts. <br /><br />1. Non-theists share with christians the sometimes feeling that humanity is worth giving up on. This in Christianity is sometimes given the name of the fallen nature of humanity. The point of this piece is to provide a language that articulates this feeling for all groups.Because it is a shared feeling. <br />2. Jesus is often described as the person whom by their life achieved such holiness which meant that this feeling of giving up on humanity is not fairly applied to them. They are therefore opposite to what condemns humanity despite their humanity.<br />3. Exactly what that opposite is in Jesus, is hard to notice when looking at contemporary Jesus followers as a whole. Rather we have others, some Christian and some not, who form such an opposite far clearer than even Jesus did. - Clearer because they are of our time, engaged in our struggles and thus easier to understand if nothing else. <br />Respectfully I would say that despite messiah meaning historically someone anointed as king the meaning I have given is in fact a better representation of the fuller meaning Christianity gave to the term as a fellow human redeemer. <br />I know your idea of Christ the King is crucial to your theology but I just don't rate it myself as capturing the fulness of what jesus following means. IN fact it seems in some hands to emphasis a submission to instructions drawn from the bible rather than an emulation of Jesus. More importantly for this piece it doesn't oppose the ways that humanity is shitful. Bible following has been a part of how humanity has been shitful - unfortunately. Or it has overlooked as secondary matters of justice and kindness in its obsession over metaphysical doctrines. BIG ALAS.<br />Finally it is important to realise that messiah is a living word. You might even find this interesting.<br />From Wikipedia: A common modern rabbinic interpretation is that there is a potential messiah in every generation. The Talmud, which often uses stories to make a moral point (aggadah), tells of a highly respected rabbi who found the Messiah at the gates of Rome and asked him, "When will you finally come?" He was quite surprised when he was told, "Today." Overjoyed and full of anticipation, the man waited all day. The next day he returned, disappointed and puzzled, and asked, "You said messiah would come 'today' but he didn't come! What happened?" The Messiah replied, "Scripture says, 'Today, 'if you will but hearken to His voice.'"[Ps. 95:7]<br /><br />However if you prefer to, just change the word messiah to redeemer. The points I make remain essentially the same.Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07412650446530771853noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4894764035439419656.post-36685729989867217582013-03-29T07:59:14.485-07:002013-03-29T07:59:14.485-07:00Hey Tony, just to clarify the definition of a word...Hey Tony, just to clarify the definition of a word in your blog. <br />"Messiah" is the Hebrew word for an "anointed one" or king. In Greek, the word is "Christos" and is why Jesus is referred to as The Christ. <br />A messiah is not someone who redeems us by giving us an example to follow. They are a king who is divinely anointed by God to rule. This is the only appropriate way in which Jesus is referred to as the Messiah and respectfully, I would encourage you to simply use a different word rather than so radically change the word's definition so that it can include Fred Hollows or even your lovely partner.Simon Camillerihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14813561936965631699noreply@blogger.com