Introduction to the Gospels
Professor Jon Weatherly
Jonathan Cooper (Box #291)
November 4, 2010.*
Fuel to Share
The dirt flies. A tail twitches. Like a squirrel finding acorns in the field, a person can unearth nuggets of truth from Scripture. In Luke, a search unearths a number of meaningful repetitions.i From the start to the end, Luke emphasizes the roles of women and the Holy Spirit.
The start of Luke highlights the role of women. In the first chapter, a woman was the first person to learn of Immanuel's coming. Moreover, the woman believed (pisteusasa) the message of the angel about her Son (1:45) in contrast to the man who had not believed (ouk episteusas) the message of the angel about his son (1:20). After a series of extraordinary events, the narrator turns the attention to Mary who "treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart." (2:19) Thereafter, Simeon sees Jesus in the temple and speaks to Mary (not to Joseph) in 2:34, and, in 2:37, God spoke through a widow.
Women, "Widow,"ii and feminine proper names appear often in the narrative as Jesus taught, cared for women, and was cared for by women. In His teaching, Jesus mentions the widow of Zarephath (4:25), describes the success of a persistent widow (18:3,5), denounces the Pharisees' mistreatment of widows (20:47), and elevates the small gift of one widow (21:2,3); as Martha was busily distracted with preparations for the upcoming meal, her sister Mary "sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching" (10:39). In addition to including women in His teaching's content and audience, Jesus included women in His miracles. For example, Jesus resurrects a widow's son (7:11-17) and heals a woman from her bleeding (8:43). Sometimes, the women also cared for Jesus. Later in the same chapter, a woman - who was in the city a sinner - washed Jesus' dirty feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and anointed them with expensive perfume. As a result of her love and faith, the woman received forgiveness for her sins (7:47-48). In the beginning of the following chapter, Luke mentions that Jesus was teaching and that "...with him...[were] some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary... and Joanna... and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means." (Luke 8:1b-3) Women play an important role throughout the narrative - being included in His teaching, receiving care from Him and giving care to Him.
At the end of His ministry, the women are again the first to hear the message of the resurrection from the angels (24:4-7). Furthermore, the women appear to believe the message of the resurrection in contrast to the men who did not believe the message of the resurrection. As Luke 24:10-11 reads, "Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but... they did not believe them."
In addition to highlighting the role of women, Luke highlights the role of the Holy Spirit throughout the narrative. In the beginning, the angel promises that John will be filled with the Holy Spirit in the womb (1:15). A few verses later, the angel promises that Jesus will be conceived by the Holy Spirit (1:35). Then, the Holy Spirit fills or was upon - and, presumably, speaks through - zechariah's wife (1:41), Zechariah (1:67), and Simeon (1:25). Throughout Jesus' ministry, the presence of the Holy Spirit empowers Jesus to preach the good news - including the good news of the Holy Spirit's coming. After Jesus' baptism, "...Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness..." (Luke 4:1) After the temptation, "Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside." (4:14) A few verses after 4:14, the same word for power (dunamis)iii is seen as the agency of His casting out of demons (4:36; cf. Matthew 12:24,28,31-32). In the next chapter, "...the power [dunamis]iv of the Lord was with Jesus to heal the sick." (5:17; cf. 6:19; 8:46)
The presence of this Power supported His proclamation of a message: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor..." (4:18). It seems that a crowd of disciples proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah because of the demonstration of the Holy Spirit's power; as Jesus approaches Jerusalem, "...[they] began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles [dunamesi]v they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!'" (19:37-38). Within the message that the Holy Spirit supported was the promise of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" (11:13)
At the end of the book, the disciples - both women and men - are promised the Holy Spirit's power. In 24:49, Jesus says, "And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power (dunamin)vi from on high." This power seems to come in support of their proclamation of His message (24:46-48; c.f. Acts 1:8 and 1 Corinthians 2:4) - as the Holy Spirit had come to support Jesus' message.
Like a squirrel, a person can find truths from the landscape of Scripture. In Luke, there is an emphasis on the importance of the roles of the Holy Spirit and women. A person can store these acorns away for the future, allowing for food for oneself and for others.
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End Notes
* Transcribed in early April 2015. Spelling and grammatical corrections on 4/16/2015.
i. Other acorns exist - such as the concepts surrounding "house" (oikos), a word which appears in Luke more often than its combined appearances in Mark and Matthew and the concepts surrounding "heart" (kardia), which, appearing 22 times, plays a prominent role throughout the narrative (e.g. Luke 1:17; 6:45; 12:46; 24:32,38).
ii. xaera appears in Luke 2:37; 4:25,26; 7:12; 18:3; 18:5; 20:47; 21:2,3) . All Greek references are based on the Tischendorf text made available at GreatTreasures.org.
iii. dunamis appears in Luke 1:17; 1:35; 4:14; 4:36; 5:17; 6:19; 8:46; 9:1; 10:13; 10:19; 19:37; 21:26; 21:27; 22:69; 24:49 according to the Tischendorf tet available at GreatTreasures.org.
iv. Ibid.
v. Ibid.
vi. A form of the word dunamis. See above.
2 replies
Active 2738 days ago
Return to God Loves the Needy at the Alliance.
A Portrait of the Needy
The Warao People in Northeastern Venezuela
Basic Facts
Life expectancy approx 40 yrs
Common for girls to have first child as early as age 13
No concept of common week: church held every day since every day is the same
No concept of hours, minutes, etc: church at sundown
Approx. 35,000 Warao in 500 isolated communities
Only 15 communities have been reached with the Gospel; 3 missionary families
Source: Team Expansion. “Together Venezuela: Church planting with Samuel Schutz.” April 2006. <http://www.soulharbor.net/sam/200604-Newsletter.pdf>.
“...the Warao are so preoccupied with death and dying that the language has no word for 'living.'”
Source: Sharon Girard’s review of Music of the Warao of Venezuela; Song People of the Rain Forest by Dale A. Olsen in Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Autumn - Winter, 1997), pp. 331-337 (review consists of 7 pages) <www.jstor.org/stable/780403>
“The largest number of deaths among the Warao is among the children---the infant mortality rate, at 49 percent, is especially high.”
Source: Dale A. Olsen, Ph.D. (Distinguished Research Professor Emeritus of Ethnomusicology Florida State University) “An Introduction to the Music and Culture of the Warao Indians of Venezuela” <http://www.dolsenmusic.net/advocacy/case_study_1.html>
The Story of Robert Yanez
MY NAME IS ROBERT YANEZ, I AM 9 YEARS OLD WARAO INDIAN LIVING IN THE ORINOCO RIVER DELTA IN VENEZUELA.
We are a family of 12 and we have one thing in common, we all have Tuberculosis. My case is more severe than the others and they keep shuttling me between my house and the hospital in Tucupita every few month (2 hours by boat).
The problem is that most of our community members have Tuberculosis, and as the Doctor said one time it does not work to treat only one member of our village while almost everyone is infected. We need medical help urgently here I already lost 2 brothers in the past.
Robert died on June 15th/2001.
Source: Warao.org. Accessed May 29, 2010.
2 replies
Active 2745 days ago
[Past the introduction. "Light" section. The Shape of Human Enlightenment: Paracas Candelabra.]
WARNING: VERY EARLY ROUGH DRAFT!!!!
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Light (Right-Left, Up-Down, Forward-Backward: Actual-Imaginary Time).
The following is intellectually “lightweight,” requiring the mental equivalent of your pinky (space) and ring finger (time).
Space
As a rule of thumb, a thing is the sum of three parts; these three parts can be drawn as three arrows.
For example, space is a thing; without time, it’s just a flat plane. With time, the three parts - the three flat planes - are visible:
Right (which implies its opposite, Left)
Up - Down
Forward - Backward
These three arrows require a minimum of four points. What I mean by that statement is that the you will automatically create a fourth symbol even if you draw these three directional pairs with the fewest number of symbols possible. Don’t take my word for it here. Try it for yourself in the following steps:
The starting point (or arrow),
with a move to the right onto a second point (or arrow),
with another move now up onto a third point (or arrow), and
with the final move forward onto the fourth point.
So, there are three dimensions of space, which require a fourth dimension that is different than the other three: time. Now, this rule of thumb (that the three visible arrows require a fourth invisible point) can be explained in the terms of a mathematical equation. Mathematicians tell us that there is a rule of thumb that a positive integer is composed of three triangular numbers. (I like the word “arrows,” but arrows do resemble triangles, of course.) Now, in order for this to be true, it is required that there be a logic that proves this to be true. Without that logic, the positive integer is just one thing; with that loic, the three parts become visible.
The three visible arrows (of space) are multiplied and governed by the invisible fourth (time). I say ‘multiplied,’ because time creates multiple ‘frames’ of space, quite literally, multiplying space; the logic that creates three triangular numbers with a positive integer will create a multiplicity of triangular numbers, not just three. Actually, from our perspective, the number of possible spaces created by time is infinite, just as the number of possible triangular numbers for each positive integer created by the logic is infinite. So, if you put time into space, you put the male into the female; then, many spaces come out of that same space - a whole family of spaces, if I may. I say ‘governed,’ because, like a sovereign ruler, time takes its toll, and nothing happens without happening within that taxed domain; to disobey time is to die. So, the invisible (time) is not only the key that unlocks space’s parts, but also the multiplier and ruler of space. We’ll discuss this relationship between the visible and invisible more when we discuss spacetime as a single threaded fabric.
If space can be thought of as the interface of a screen, time can be thought of as the code that runs that screen; if you are no longer in obedience to the code, if you disobey the code, it’s only because you have ceased to be displayed by the code. The code gives and the code takes away your existence. Time runs the space, just as code runs the interface (just as logic runs an equation).
Now, these four points form two groups: the first arrow goes with the second arrow (four lines of direction), and the third arrow goes with the fourth point (two lines and time). if we draw the three arrows on a cave wall, we would draw the third visible arrow “Forward” into the cave wall itself; so, it’s as if the third arrow is invisible, too.
By the way, I think of this fourth point as akin to the fourth corner at the base of the Pyramid that’s invisible (because it’s behind the other three corners, the base of which forms a right angle from our point of view). Now, truth be told, our right angle is only 90 degrees - that is, half of the degrees of a triangle (which is the flat representation of pyramid). Actually a right angle itself is a fourth of a pyramid, since (at the least) four right angles are contained within a pyramid, just as one corner only is actually fully visible (with the other three invisible). You cannot place more than one fully visible right angle within a pyramid reaching from the top to the edge of a corner. Now, remember this: the visible fourth reveals the invisible fourth. We understand the invisible (fourth) from the visible (fourth).
As an aside, let us think of another way that we can remember that the third point or arrow is indistinguishable from the fourth point - from the perspective of a flat surface. Now, if there were people who lived in a 2D plane, we could ask them what the pivot point is and they’d say that it’s the third one (from their perspective). In terms of our experience in 3D, we never experience infinite space, but only finite space. So, space from our experience is a square or cube within line segments. If time is the point in the middle of our space, then the line segments in each direction of that time would add up to 6. If a point is placed at the end of each line segment, it adds up to 13 points (if you include time). With these 13, time is the third point. In other words, in terms of our finite experience, three is the pivot; what fourth are you talking about? The fourth is invisible.
Like a pivot point, a key can be thought of as at the center of its lock. With invisible time as the pivot point or via for travel in any direction, the directions of space will appear on a square foot as a plus symbol with arrows at the end of each line.
Space-Time
Space and time can be thought of as one entity, as a married pair that form one body. This invisible (the fourth or seventh) in our imagination moves in a “positive” direction, which is associated with three spatial directions:
Right,
Up, and
Forward.
It is also hypothetically conceivable in our imagination that the invisible (fourth or seventh) could move in a “negative” direction, which involves three opposite parts:
Left,
Down, and
Backward ( “a step backward,” “a journey back in time,”“a throwback to a bygone era,” etc.).
So, in addition to actual time (past-future), there is imaginary time (forward-backward); in other words, the directions of space are implied within time itself. If you say the trunk, you imply the branches (and vice versa: e.g. “I just need some space,” “I just need some time,” etc.).
As far as a tree is concerned, the direction from the trunk to the branches can be drawn as one, single direction, and the direction from the branches to the trunk can also be drawn as one, single direction. Let me try to say that another way; moving sap from the trunk to the branches is not thought of as moving the sap in seven directions simultaneously. No, when the sap moves, it moves in one direction - toward or away from the branches.
Now, this means that space and time can be thought of as line of direction with space on one side and time on the other side. Given what we know about lines of opposite direction (e.g. left - right), one end of a line of direction is identical (in the opposite way) to the other end of that line of direction. In other words, what can be said about space is identical to what (in the opposite) can be said about time.
[Insert Menorah.]
Time (past-future and forward-backward)
So, here’s the other half of the story, the semi-circle, if you will. If space and time are opposites of the same line of direction, then the characteristics of space match the characteristics of time (in an opposite way); what was said about space (in an opposite way) is true about time. By itself, time is a flat plane.
Each whole thing contains three parts:
Actual Time (which moves only in one direction, future).
Positive Imaginary Time.
Negative Imaginary Time.
So, the three of time imply all six of space: 9 directions in total.
By the way, here’s more food for thought. In order to step beyond the three points of our original right angle, we have to step beyond that 90 degree angle that we talked about earlier; 90 degrees is to 360 degrees what 15 is to 60; so, in the context of 60 (and that is how we measure time), what we have stepped beyond is 15. We have moved beyond 15 units of time, and moving beyond those 15 units of time is moving beyond the whole of the visible three points of the right angle (the interface). Now, only the invisible fourth point is visible (and the three visible points are invisible, because we have gone beyond 15 units of time). If the semicircle is the thumb, then the semicircl multiples the four; so, four fingers multiplied by the equivalent of four fingers is 16. You need the thumb in order not to drown in spacetime. (So, it is as if there are four fingers on one side of the hand and four fingers on the other side; hold that thought - four on either side. It will be important much later.)
The three finite parts of time require a minimum of four points:
The starting point (or arrow),
with a move of actual time onto a second point (or arrow),
with another move now “forward” (or any “positive” direction), and
with the final move “backward” (or any opposite direction) onto the fourth point.
So, time has three invisible parts, and these have an opposite (which must be visible, since these three are invisible) fourth that unlocks, multiplies or runs these three invisible parts of time; so, the fourth is visible, covering over the other three in our line of vision. Now, “forward” and “backward” in time make sense as subjective evaluation of some actual thing happening; for example, consider how this news article title “Devastation From Hurricane Maria Set Puerto Rico Back ‘Nearly 20 to 30 Years’” describes imaginary time as an effect of a phenomenon: the visible phenomenon set back the invisible clock. Now, this is imaginary, since time did not go backward actually to the past. The invisible (which is a key) is playing the role of lock, and the visible (which is a lock) is playing the role of key. Since this second square (of phenomena and laws) is the fourth to the previous square, it can be positioned to a fourth of a rotation off the position of the square above it. The second branch is phenomena and laws.
Now, it is no surprise that the phenomenon unlocks time, not that the Laws of Nature unlock time. Just as invisible time (ring finger) is longer than the visible space (pinky finger), the invisible laws (index finger) are shorter than the visible phenomena (middle finger), unraveling underneath the weight of a Galaxy, not reaching as much of space as the Galaxy; what do we even mean by laws without anything actually happening? The key of laws plays the lock, and the lock of phenomena play the key - and the middle finger is bigger than the ring finger. So, the phenomena play the key with time, and time plays the lock with the phenomenon. The phenomena and the laws form seven total . So, when a prophet multiplies time by the phenomena, the prophet could be said to have taken the equation of the number seven and performed the multiplication function with the number nine: 7x9=63. (For more on the number 63, see....)
Just as we said before that it is as if only time exists, one can also said that it is as if only space exists: “some researchers theorize that this Newtonian idea of time as an absolute quantity that flows on its own, along with the idea that time is the fourth dimension of spacetime, are incorrect. They propose to replace these concepts of time with a view that corresponds more accurately to the physical world: time as a measure of the numerical order of change.” “Time is certainly a very complex topic in physics, and there are people who believe that time does not actually exist.” Whether or not time is actually one of the thirteen points at all is, in one sense, a serious question; time is nothing more than a measure of the behavior of the visible Earth itself as it spins and rotates. (For discussion of time as a third wife, see later discussion about Islam.)
Technically, all of these points of time fall on the same line, which (if drawn directly in line of vision) is invisible (equivalent to a point). We can think of the top branch as the directions of space. There are six directions. Four of these these directions are duplicated twice (“forward” in time can be any direction in space and “backward” in time can be any of the six directions in space). However, all three parts of time can be thought of as a line or a point; so, the trunk contains three parts that all fall on the same line, which (if seen directly in line of vision) is invisible (equivalent to a point).
Finally, at an absolute maximum, time implies ten directions (six of space, past-future, and positive-negative imaginary time) and that time multiplies space, which has a maximum of six directions. So, the prophet could be said to have taken the equation that equals the number six (Aisha, since the third is necessary for all six directions) and performed the multiplication function with the number ten: 6x10=60. (About 60, see the relevant discussion in the Ring Finger, which discusses the single threaded fabric.)
Now, the imaginary time is redundant, and the fourth or seventh (invisible time) only actually moves in one direction, so it is silly to represent time as a line, not a point. Time as anything more than a point is (to quote unthinking humans) “total B.S.” Of course, isn't spacetime in our experience redundant to such an extent that many people refer to spacetime (without even realizing) as “B.S.,” “a bunch of B.S.,” “full of…,” and so forth? Even though the equation being “total B.S.” sounds accurate (since we are talking about an equation for what enlightened creatures classify as “total B.S.”), I admit that the equation could be circumcised back down to the four points (since imaginary and past time are silly and redundant). So, circumcising the equation at the eighth direction (leaving only seven) removes all that “B.S.,” leaving us with four happy points (six directions of space and a seventh direction of time). So, our right angle returns to its proper shape; this right angle - with its 90 degree angle that are half of a triangle’s 180 degrees - corresponds to the pyramid’s visibility vs. invisibility, after removing all the B.S.
Closing Thoughts
Now, you should know this like the back of your hand, and you should know this forwards and backwards. Having been counting our fingertips, let’s count the opposite - each knuckle (and each gap between each knuckle). Since we are dealing with the first four fingers in the first half of this section (starting at the first and ending at the fourth), let’s start on the fourth finger (index) and end at the first (pinky). The first three of the four are visible, while the last Pinky knuckle is not really visible as a knuckle. The three visible knuckles are equivalent to six, since there is a trough following each one: the three are each a pair of polar opposites. So, there are three with an invisible fourth or - if we count the troughs - six (directions of space) with an invisible seventh (time).
Of course, our study of spacetime is not complete with just those seven. A phenomenon must unlock spacetime, and that phenomenon is the fifth, which serves to multiply the four fingers. So, count again - but only to the number five. In making a fist, the thumb does not extend past the ring finger.
Now, these numbers can be thought of as months. These last five can be thought of as going in a negative direction backward toward the death of Winter, while the first seven were going in a positive direction forward toward the fullness of life at harvest; so, there is a role reversal - a polar opposite relationship - between the seven (of the key or code) and the five (of the lock or interface).
Let’s now consider how we could use both hands (not just one hand) to communicate these ideas:
Left (Pinky)
Right (Ring)
Down (Middle)
Up (Index)
Backward (Thumb)
Forward (Thumb)
Past Time (Index)
Future Time (Middle)
Backward Imaginary Time (Ring)
Forward Imaginary Time (Pinky)
Our backward-forward line bridges the gap between the visible space and the invisible time (as with our right angle). Of course, the right is the key, and the left is the lock, and these fingers can be thought of as pairs making a total of five our six pairs (depending on how you count them.
Now, these look like the stones at Stonehenge, which is shaped as a semicircle. Now, listen and look carefully. There are three on one side, and there are four on the other side. This is 7 (which is - with the rocks on top - a maximum of 10). The three are equivalent to two directions of space (up and down) plus the pivot of time; when you look down on a square foot, the pivot point of time is indistinguishable from forward and backward (the third polar opposite pair of directions is indistinguishable with the fourth pivot point - they go together on the opposite side as visible space). The four on the other side are equivalent to the two polar opposite directions of right-left and backward-forward.
Ok, now, there is another layer to this seven which turns these seven into four (three pairs and one stand alone), and there is a stone piece between them (the one where a speaker might stand at an amphitheatre). In other words, there are seven in the first count, and there are (on top of that) five in the second count, because the standing rock pairs are combined with a roof for each pair. Again, inside the semicircle, there is an initial layer of seven (four opposite to three) and a secondary layer of five (with the two pairs on one side, the standalone stone and a pair on the other, and the stone in the center). The stone standing speaking in the middle to the seven is from outside of the sequence of the seven; that stone is an outsider. (For more discussion of this and other megalyths, see the Appendix.)
[Insert Paracas Candelabra: “You were here at the first loop. The code or key on one side was barely visible in our thinking, being only a single line or a single point, at first. By the end, it branched out.” Include arrow.]
2 replies
Active 2745 days ago
