The basics of Christian theology

[Odë:hgöd]

~
Before proceeding to show how David is Jesus' paternal ancestor, I think it
reasonable to emphasize that much of Christianity cannot be proven true by means
of empirical evidence. In other words; many elements of Christianity would never
hold up in an unbiased court of law wherein facts are afforded far more value than
the words of any one particular holy book; whether the Tanach, the Koran, the
Sutras, the Book Of Mormon, or the Veda, et al.

Using the Bible's statements to prove the Bible's statements are true is sort of like
what would be a jury acquitting defendants based solely upon the accused saying
they didn't do it, viz: the Bible is true to a Christian, but we cannot sensibly expect
it to be true to critical thinkers, i.e. the Bible is our truth, but not necessarily
everybody's truth. So let's not be going about in a manner similar to inflamed
fanatics waving placards, shouting, baring our teeth, and spraying spittle;
demanding that people defer to our way of thinking.
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
20) Jesus' genealogy is relatively unimportant to the average Gentile, whereas very
important to Jews because only David's biological posterity qualify to ascend his
throne and govern the people of Israel.

● Ps 132:11 . .The Lord has sworn in truth unto David; and He will not turn from it:
"Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne"

The New Testament corroborates Jesus' biological connection to David.

● Acts 2:29-30 . . Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.
Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him,
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on
his throne.

● Rom 1:3 . . . His son; descended from David according to the flesh

FAQ: Jesus is alleged to have been miraculously conceived (Luke 1:27-35) How
then did he in any way at all descend from David's loins, i.e. his flesh?

REPLY: Mary wasn't Jesus' surrogate mother, viz: he wasn't implanted in her womb,
rather, he was conceived in her womb. Seeing as how Joseph wasn't Jesus' father,
then conception by means of his mom's flesh became the default path to David's
flesh.

Although women are rare in Bible genealogies, they still matter. For example
Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba. ( Matt 1:5-6)
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
21) In the centuries leading up to Jesus' time, the land of Israel was conquered by
Nebuchadnezzar whereby Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed, and many of
the people were taken into slavery for a period of seventy years.

During his years in slavery, the prophet Daniel predicted the people would return
and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple; but not for keeps. The day would come
when the city and the Temple would once again be destroyed; which they were in
70 AD by Titus. (This is all too much to explain in detail so I'm just painting the
broad strokes.)

Daniel also predicted that David's ultimate successor would show up and then be
taken away before Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple; which means that
Israel's long-awaited king has been here once before already.

Some of the Jews in Jesus' day were under the impression that their king was
supposed to be immortal (John 12:34) but Daniel predicted their king would not be
immortal. (Dan 9:26) That error in their thinking has led quite a few Jews even in
our time to dismiss Jesus as David's ultimate successor.

● John 7:31 . .When the Christ comes, will he do more miraculous signs than this
man?

Torah-trained Jews circumvent that question by citing Deut 13:1-5 which says, in
so many words, that miracles are no guarantee that a prophet is working together
with God. In point of fact, some of Israel's top spiritual counselors were convinced
Jesus was trying to mislead the people with his miracles.

I kind of sympathize with their doubts because some of the things Jesus claimed
about himself were very much on a level of madness the likes of Jim Jones, David
Koresh, Sun Myung Moon, Charles Manson, Mary Baker Eddy, Joseph Smith, L. Ron
Hubbard, Muhammad, Ellen G White, and Charles Taze Russel, et al.

But still; the fact remains that according to Daniel, the Jews' king has been here
once before already. So if it wasn't Jesus, then who else from that era might be a
likely candidate for us to consider?
_

 

[Odë:hgöd]

~
22) A curse back in the Old Testament, leveled at a really bad king in Solomon's
royal line to David's throne, reads like this:

● Jer 22:29-30 . . O land, land, land, hear the word of The Lord! Thus said The
Lord: Record this man as without succession, one who shall never be found
acceptable; for no man of his offspring shall be accepted to sit on the throne of
David and to rule again in Judah.

The bad king's name was Jeconiah (a.k.a. Jehoiakim, a.k.a. Coniah). Jesus' dad
Joseph was one of his descendants. (Matt 1:11)

It's commonly believed that the curse extended to Joseph, so that had he been
Jesus' biological father, it would have prevented Mary's boy from ascending David's
throne.

However, Joseph adopted Jesus and seeing as how adopted children inherit from
their fathers the same as biological children; then had the curse extended to
Joseph, it would have extended to Jesus too whether he was virgin-conceived or
not. In other words: seeing as how Jesus got into Solomon's royal line by adoption,
then of course he would've got into the curse too because the throne and the curse
were a package deal.

However; the wording "to rule again in Judah" indicates that the curse on
Jeconiah's royal progeny was limited to the era of the divided kingdom with
Samaria in the north and Judah in the south. That situation came to an end when
Nebuchadnezzar crushed the whole country and led first Samaria, and then later
Judah, off to Babylonian slavery.

When David's ultimate successor reigns, the country of Israel will be unified. His
jurisdiction won't be limited to Judah within a divided kingdom, but will dominate
the entire land of Israel. So the curse doesn't apply to him.

● Ezek 37:21-22 . .You shall declare to them: Thus said the Lord God: I am going
to take the Israelite people from among the nations they have gone to, and gather
them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land. I will make them a
single nation in the land, on the hills of Israel, and one king shall be king of them
all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided
into two kingdoms.
_

 

[BruceLeiter]

What do you think about these five basics for the Christian faith, following the Bible's history compared to a cruise ship's voyage toward disaster like that of the Titanic?

LAUNCHED--God create humans.

LOST--Humans rebel against God.

LOVED--Jesus, the God-man, died and rose again to open the way to the Father's approval.

LANDED--Humans come to trust in Jesus as the only way to the Father's not-guilty verdict by the Holy Spirit's power.

LOVING--Believers live loving lives by showing Jesus to others.

 

[FredVB]

There should be growth included, spiritual growth. Modern teaching of Christianity seems to often neglect that. Sorry I did not think of a term starting with L for that. There is godliness to be desired, if we come to that as we should, the fruit of God's Spirit is essential for this, and "works" we should have show from that.

 

[MrE]

What are the basics of Christian theology?

Well, basically you ask Christians for the basic theology, and then you step back and watch the theologians hijack your thread.

Sadly, no actual conversation occurred.

 

[FredVB]

Jazzy does not seem to still be around, but maybe was interested without knowing anything to contribute. My response still would not go off from the topic, I think it should be basic to believers' thinking.

 

[BruceLeiter]

There should be growth included, spiritual growth. Modern teaching of Christianity seems to often neglect that. Sorry I did not think of a term starting with L for that. There is godliness to be desired, if we come to that as we should, the fruit of God's Spirit is essential for this, and "works" we should have show from that.

@FredVB, I think that the reason we Christians don't hear much about spiritual growth nowadays is that it involves change in our lives. A great many Christians want comfortable Christianity instead of uncomfortable, changing growth. Sadly, pastors give people what they want instead of boldly proclaiming the Word regardless of the people's reactions, the way the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist did. Of course, Jesus was the God-man prophet who ruffled a lot of theological feathers, one of the reasons he was killed.

When I was a preacher, Ezekiel 33 was a great comfort for me. I challenged complacent churches with God's Word, and it was their responsibility how they reacted. Of course, my ministries were around four years in each church.

 

[Lamb]

@FredVB, I think that the reason we Christians don't hear much about spiritual growth nowadays is that it involves change in our lives. A great many Christians want comfortable Christianity instead of uncomfortable, changing growth. Sadly, pastors give people what they want instead of boldly proclaiming the Word regardless of the people's reactions, the way the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist did. Of course, Jesus was the God-man prophet who ruffled a lot of theological feathers, one of the reasons he was killed.

When I was a preacher, Ezekiel 33 was a great comfort for me. I challenged complacent churches with God's Word, and it was their responsibility how they reacted. Of course, my ministries were around four years in each church.

If the true sweetness of the Gospel is proclaimed, then growth will happen. Cause and effect

 

[BruceLeiter]

There should be growth included, spiritual growth. Modern teaching of Christianity seems to often neglect that. Sorry I did not think of a term starting with L for that. There is godliness to be desired, if we come to that as we should, the fruit of God's Spirit is essential for this, and "works" we should have show from that.

If the true sweetness of the Gospel is proclaimed, then growth will happen. Cause and effect

True, @Lamb, but we must not neglect the New Testament commands that share the goals we have as Christians, for example, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-6, Hebrews 12-13, and the Sermon on the Mount as well as many others.

 

[Creed]

There should be growth included, spiritual growth. Modern teaching of Christianity seems to often neglect that.

Anyone who professes a genuine faith in Christ will experience growth by necessity, even though it may or may not be evident to them.

 

[Lamb]

True, @Lamb, but we must not neglect the New Testament commands that share the goals we have as Christians, for example, Colossians 3-4, Ephesians 4-6, Hebrews 12-13, and the Sermon on the Mount as well as many others.

Law and Gospel properly distinguished...it's the Law that tells us what to do and not do, but it's the Gospel that changes us into the New Adam who does those things.

 

[BruceLeiter]

Law and Gospel properly distinguished...it's the Law that tells us what to do and not do, but it's the Gospel that changes us into the New Adam who does those things.

But, @Lamb, I'm saying that it is not automatic. People settle at a certain spiritual level if their old nature doesn't like change, whereas God gives us many commands to encourage us with his goals for our spiritual lives. Then, if we ignore those commands, God has to allow certain struggles or traumatic events in our lives to push us toward growth.

 

[Lamb]

But, @Lamb, I'm saying that it is not automatic. People settle at a certain spiritual level if their old nature doesn't like change, whereas God gives us many commands to encourage us with his goals for our spiritual lives. Then, if we ignore those commands, God has to allow certain struggles or traumatic events in our lives to push us toward growth.

It's also the Holy Spirit that works within us. We aren't alone in our walk. Yes, we resist Him, but He'll keep pushing (at His speed, not man's).

 

[FredVB]

Is it thought that there will not be struggles in life? There will be, and God will use these. It is still best to seek God's will, to do accordingly, not just what your church teaches for it, or something else. Start with the Bible, where it does.

 

[fuddy]

Depends on who you ask. There should be consensus among Christians as God's spirit (the counselor, the Spirit of truth, who will teach you all things) brings us all into agreement, but...

Obviously, we have a problem with that process. The Flesh is dense and stubborn.