Is God love?

In this post I am sharing an article from the BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY SOCIETY. The article is titled: What “God Is Love” Actually Means. This was published in the Epistles section of the Fall 2020 Issue of Biblical Archaeology Review, and it is by Ben Witherington III. The following excerpt is taken from it.

The problem, of course, for most people in English-speaking countries is that they associate the word “love” with particular kinds of human feelings, but in the Greek New Testament physical or tangible human love is referred to by the term eros, from which we quite appropriately get the word “erotic,” not by several of the other Greek words for love. English, unfortunately, doesn’t have the versality of Greek when it comes to having different words for different kinds of love.

 

Read the full article at the link below. Hope you enjoy.

What “God Is Love” Actually Means - Biblical Archaeology Society

Reference:

https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/what-god-is-love-actually-means/

On securing one's life

Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.

- Jesus





Source:
Gospel of Luke 17:33, New Revised Standard Version

Real empathy

On social media these days just about anything may be found. Social media is great for keeping us in touch with many all around the world. Just about any type of information may also be found there. Lately, many on there seem to think they are empaths. Wow! That is a loaded word. But many out there do seem to think they are empaths and seem to believe that they have more empathy than anyone. Somehow, I do not think people are really understanding what an empath really is, however. An empath is really a word more relevant to science fiction. In sci-fi an empath is a person that experiences or can strongly perceive the emotional and mental state of others. Of course, this is in a paranormal sort of way. Truthfully, many are confusing it for something completely different. The thing is many seem to think they are beyond good, and this might be a little concerning. Even Jesus said only God is good when someone called him good. I will try to explain by argument.

Many love to say that Jesus quote "love your neighbor.” Some might say something like, oh, you do not love your neighbor, for example. The reality is that love your neighbor is only half the quote. The full quote is about loving your neighbor as yourself. The thing is that it seems many want to follow about 1% of things Jesus may have said and ignore the other 99%. For instance, Jesus said take up your cross and follow me. Jesus even told one rich young man to sell all his possessions and give the money to poor, and he would have treasure in heaven (Matthew 19:16-30). By the way, the young man walked away realizing he probably had little empathy. When one sees empathy with a different lens, the number of those who have real empathy seems to diminish. However, there are and have been real empaths throughout history, many who gave themselves for others selflessly.

Do you want to know who was a person with great empathy? Well, Mother Teresa was highly likely one. If you do not know her biography, I recommend that you pick a copy of it. I am without a doubt convinced that you would agree with me.

Do you think you have great empathy? If you do, I recommend you do something about that calling. Serving others may be what you should be doing. Now, if you are judging others that you feel do not love their neighbor more than you, it is possible that you are just judgmental. Moreover, I hope you have not confused being judgmental for being an empath (a predominantly sci-fi term). If the shoe fits wear it, but please do not assume I am the one being judgmental for writing this piece. I just wanted to clarify what seems to be an error in our current society by explaining my view from a theological perspective. Also, I am done here. Peace, love, and blessings!

Russell Brand interviews Yusuf Cat Stevens

I watched this YouTube portion of an interview of Yusuf Cat Stevens by Russell Brand which Russell shared on his YouTube site. I enjoyed it very much! I am not much of a fundamentalist, so I can easily put myself in the shoes of someone of another religion, although it is much easier when that religion is also Abrahamic. I have known Cat's testimony for many decades, and it is good to see and have a fresh and recent version of it. I was impressed by Russell’s ecumenical approach during the segment and decided to share with this audience. This video is titled: Fame & The Spiritual Life | Russell Brand & Yusuf Cat Stevens. Below is a note from it.

A clip from my #UnderTheSkin podcast with music legend Yusuf Cat Stevens! You can listen to the entire podcast over on Luminary: http://luminary.link/russell.

Watch below. Hope you enjoy.

Reference:

https://youtu.be/iQeCJqjPgRU

Sharing something from the sibling blog

Hello! I hope everyone is well. Happy September! I am never sure what people really mean when they say something like Happy September. Obviously, it is better to have a happy September than a sad one. Anyhow, in this brief post I am simply sharing something from the sibling blog, Arango’s Apologetics Page. The post is titled: Can one chapter from a letter be insightful enough? Hope you enjoy reading it, I think much of the text will seem a little familiar. The link is the following.

Arango's Apologetics Page: Can one chapter from a letter be insightful enough?

Ecumenism in Orthodoxy

This article considers how the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church faced challenges such as how the gospel relates to a pluralistic society; the Christian message in a society marked by religious pluralism, ethnic diversity, and cultural relativism; whether Christians encountering today's pluralist society should concentrate on evangelism or on dialogue; and on how conciliarity relates to the unity of the church. The article examines how the council attempted to respond to, or at least reflect on, these challenges in relation to the theological dialogue of the Orthodox Church with the other Christian churches and confessions. The bilateral theological dialogues have also increasingly led to bearing Christian witness, and an atmosphere of mutual appreciation, friendship, and fellowship has already become at least a reality. But has this development also led to a deeper mutual theological understanding? Have the profound differences between the Orthodox churches and the other churches in bilateral dialogues been clarified theologically?

The previous abstract is on the Wiley Online Library published by the Ecumenical Review of the World Council of Churches, and from the following:

The Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church: An Assessment

Orthodoxy in Unity and in Conciliarity

Challenges Faced by the Holy and Great Council in a Pluralistic World

Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima

First published: 09 August 2020   https://doi.org/10.1111/erev.12523

Read the full text at the following link:

Orthodoxy in Unity and in Conciliarity - Metropolitan Gennadios of Sassima - 2020 - The Ecumenical Review - Wiley Online Library

Reference:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/erev.12523

Church to Mosque, to Museum, and now back to Mosque?

It was a Church, it became a Mosque, and then a Museum, and now back to Mosque. It is a 65,000 square-foot building completed in 537 AD when Justinian I was Eastern Roman Emperor. What am I talking about? The Hagia Sophia, Cathedral of Constantinople, an exceptionally beautiful building. If you have never seen it Google it, and view the images. Of course, Constantinople is no more, it is Istanbul. There is a 1953 song written by Jimmy Kennedy and Nat Simon that talks a little about it. In 1453, the Ottoman Empire took over the area in reference. Islam did not exist yet in 537, obviously. In 1923 the Republic of Turkey was founded, and in 1930 Constantinople became what is now Istanbul. Recently, the Turkish government basically has allowed the Hagia Sophia to be open for Muslim prayers again. This decision has bothered many. In this post, I am sharing an article from the World Council of Churches. The following excerpt is from said article.

The head of the Geneva-based World Council of Churches has written to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressing “grief and dismay” from WCC members at his decision to convert the world famous Hagia Sophia into a mosque (oikoumene.org).

Read the full article at the following link.

Hagia Sophia decision by President Erdogan evokes 'grief and dismay' from World Council of Churches — World Council of Churches

Reference:

https://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/hagia-sophia-decision-by-president-erdogan-evokes-grief-and-dismay-from-world-council-of-churches