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Oct 24 2019

When “Perfection” is the Opposite of “Perfect”

by Ken Howard

A while back I was challenged on my assertions that the goal of Christian community was not to achieve and maintain perfection, and that neither Jesus Christ nor the Apostle Paul ever intended to start a religion called “Christianity.”

So I’d like to comment briefly here on the concepts of “perfection” and “religion.”

If we in the present day are not careful in our use of terms, we run the risk of overlaying the original meanings of the words of Scripture with our own connotations.

For example, we tend to think of perfection in the absolute sense, as in entirely without error, wholly without defect, as something or someone having achieved a state of being which is complete in-and-of itself.  When we hear Jesus say, “You are to be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect,” we view it as reaching a state of perfection exactly like God’s state of perfection. However, the writers of the New Testament used the term in a more nuanced way. Our sense of perfect is close to the Greek “aortist” tense, which connotes an act that is complete and permanent. But in all the places where we are being asked to be “perfect,” the tense is not aortist, as in completed once-and-for-all, but “imperfect,” as in an ongoing process. Paul implies as much when he says “not that I have already become perfect” (Phil. 3:12) and when he says that God “will perfect” a good work in us “until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

[Read more…]

Written by Ken Howard · Categorized: FaithX Blog, Posts by Ken Howard · Tagged: aortist, Christianity, Greek, latin, Perfection, religio, religion, Roman Empire, scripture, supersticio, telios, translation

Sep 07 2017

The Bible and Same-Sex Relations: A Reflection on the Literal Meanings of the Hebrew and Greek Texts

By the Rev. Ken Howard

I recently reconnected with a classmate from my high school days. Our first several exchanges focused on updating each other on what had happened in the decades since our graduation. Once we discovered that both of us had become Christ-followers, the discussion turned to sharing our respective points of view on a variety of subjects – prayer, spiritual life, the Bible – and eventually to the issue of sexual orientation. My former classmate was surprised to hear that I had a very high view of the inspiration of Scripture, yet favored the full inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the life of the Church. He asked if I would mind explaining my thinking on this subject in a plain and straightforward way. This article is my response to that request.

click here to download and read the entire article

This article is revised and expanded from the original version, posted on the Paradoxical Thoughts blog in 2015.

The author wishes to offer his sincere thanks to Darren M. Slade,
doctoral student in theology and biblical studies at Liberty University,
 for his thorough and critical review of the biblical translations contained in this article,
as well as the dozens of other biblical scholars who offered critical review and comments on Academia.com.

Written by Ken Howard · Categorized: FaithX Blog, FaithX News, Future of Faith, Posts by Ken Howard · Tagged: Bible, church, homosexuality, inclusion. exclusion, same-sex relations, scripture

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