Many of you may know who NT Wright is, but in case you don't, he is one of the best and most well known New Testament scholars in the world, and is the Bishop of Durham in the Church of England. Today, I got to go to a lecture series of his on the Gospel of John, and it was one of the most incredible lectures I have ever heard. He is quite possibly the most brilliant person I have ever heard speak, and I got to hear him from 9:30 this morning until 4 in the afternoon! Here are a few noteworthy things he said or I learned from today's lecture. The direct quotes (as best I could) are in quotations, and the stuff with much less exact note taking are not:
"Love is what you decide to do, and your feelings will come as they come."
"If you're following Jesus you must watch what he does, then do it. Some people say they don't have the strength for that. Whoever said anything about your own strength? He has given us the Holy Spirit!"
"Love is willing and doing." Along the same lines he said something like that "love is not warm, fuzzy feelings." Paul did not write in the epistles for his audiences to have more warm and fuzzy feelings for each other, but rather to sacrificially care for each other more.
We can never be "Gospels Christians" separate from "Epistles Christians." They can never be separated. We cannot just care about our relationship to God and we cannot just care about building the kingdom of God (that is, often, social things). We must hold them together. This ties in perfectly with what he says later (and is a big theme in John): "Not only are we part of the new creation, we are to be agents of new creation."
"Refusing to engage in political discourse is attempting to quench the Spirit."
The powers of this world see truth as what comes "out of a checkbook or a gun," but that is not what truth is! Truth is that "greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13).
And I leave you with a verse that has been really important to me in times of great trouble in my life, John 16:33:
"I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
If you don't know this peace or you don't know what that means, let me know. I'll do my best to show it to you. I know that lots of people have lots of misconceptions about Jesus because of the church, but the church is not God. Please don't confuse them.
Love,
Charles
P.S. I turn 21 next Sunday, so mail me a bottle of wine or your favorite brew to:
Charles Anderas
Gordon College
255 Grapevine Rd
Wenham, MA 01984
1 comments:
i was just blown away because of the whole temple idea. it's mostly because it's relating to my paper and i never read anything like that in my readings. i'll update once i get the chance...AFTER my johannine paper and SBL.
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