Many scholars think 3:18-4:6 is an ancient profession of faith, as it reflects upon the death of Christ, his descent to Hell, his resurrection, his enthronement at the right hand of God and his judgment of the living and the dead. Others note a confession of faith in verse 21. Internal evidence of I Peter suggests that the situation of its readers is one of persecution. The general conclusion now widely accepted among scholars is that the early part of the writing is based on a baptismal homily the author habitually used. In 3:18, Peter begins again to remind Christians of the example of patient suffering they have in Christ.
A bitter pill indeed was the persecution that faced the first Christians, such as those to whom Peter addresses this letter as those "exiled" (1:1) and "alien" (2:11). Because the letter does not describe persecutions mentioned in detail, however, scholars have long argued about whether Peter or some later disciple wrote this letter. Regardless of where one comes down on this debate, clearly, the social position of Christians in pagan cultures in any era before Constantine was no easy situation. One might speak of state-level persecution, such as occurred in the days of Nero (circa A.D. 65), during which many believe Peter himself lost his life. Alternatively, one speaks simply of the social ostracism and criticism that come with being a member of a minority religious group, the Christian communities of Asia Minor endured serious persecution for the sake of Christ during a great many time frames. Because Peter addresses the epistle to many communities instead of just one, tradition designates it as one of the "catholic," as in "universal," epistles. The others are James, II Peter, letters of John and Jude.
Central to this passage are instructions on how one should conduct oneself in the context of persecution. He instructs the community to be patient and forbearing in the face of intimidation, but without simply giving up. He urges them to offer their defense when challenged, but to always act in a blameless way so as not to give their neighbors more mundane charges to bring against them. He is clear that evil exists. One needs to recognize it, address it, and defeat it. Thus, we must not ignore it. We must also not blast away at it with heavy artillery. We address it by pondering, meditating upon, and applying appropriately to our situation, the message and the methods of the cross.[1]
Persecution in the way many Christians have experienced it in history and in the world today is not part of the experience of the American church today. One can be grateful for that. The church has its freedom to worship and to witness. The fact that many Christians in the world do not have this freedom ought to make the church in America grateful.
Yet do you not still find it difficult to witness? Recently, some quite intelligent people have professed their atheism and their frustration with all religious people and with Christianity in particular. Even Mother Teresa has come under attack from some. The intimidation can be subtle. As William F. Buckley noted long ago, you can mention religion once at a dinner party and it will be all right. If you bring it up twice, the host will not invite you back again.
I suppose we need simple reminders. Our actions do speak louder than our words. People will respond to the sermon they see far more readily than the sermon they hear. Yet, the Christian faith is in the Word God has spoken in Jesus of Nazareth. Christians have a profound hope, not in themselves, not in a political ideology, but in God. When the opportunity arises, Christians need to give verbal expression to their hope. They do so with love. They do so, making sure to respond to any negative attack with blessing. They do so, facing their fears instead of allowing their fears to control them. They do so, following the example of witness set by Jesus. Such is the challenge Christians in every age and culture face.
I Peter 3: 13-16 are an exhortation to be "zealous" for good. 13 Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? 14 But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, 15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. If Christians are to suffer, let it be for doing good, and let them continue to respond openly when questioned by the State. Christians can bear witness of their adherence to Christ through the local persecutions.
Most of us live with some sense of hope. Hope inspires us to action. Hope gives us a reason to get up in the morning. Hope inspires us to do something important with our lives. Hope inspires us to do better. All human beings need hope.
Blood Diamond is a 2006 movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is Danny Archer. In some ways, the story is about hope. Danny, a soldier of fortune, hopes to score big enough to pay his way out of Africa. Another character, an African named Solomon, hopes to reunite with his wife and three children, from whom rebels violently separated him. They join in a common quest to recover a rare pink diamond that can transform their lives. In one scene (2:05:16 to 2:08:48), Danny calls the reporter Maddy in Europe. Rather than taking the diamond he had plotted to steal throughout the entire movie, Archer stays in Africa as his friend Solomon leaves with the diamond that is rightfully his. Maddy wants to help Danny get home, but his enemies are closing in. They will kill him. In that sense, his hope is over. “You have a real story now. Write the h--- out of it,” he says. Yet, a smile comes across his face. He tells her that he has a wonderful view. He knows it will be his last view of this earth. Archer tells the reporter that he is right where he ought to be. His blood drips upon the ground. Although his hope is gone in one sense, he has realized a far deeper hope of doing something meaningful for others, including making others aware of the often-bloody process of delivering diamonds to us - blood diamonds. In the end, Danny will find redemption in handing off the rare diamond to Solomon, stay behind to fight off the enemy, and thereby allowing Solomon to reunite with his family.
Well, as important as hope is to human life, we can place our hope in the wrong things. If anyone should be able to address true hope amid a world that so often entices us to hope in the wrong things, it should be the church. Christian, in what do you hope.
For Peter, the persecution these Christians experienced and the suffering it clearly caused offered them was an opportunity to share the hope that was within them. fulfilling our calling to witness to our culture in the uniqueness of this historical moment will always carry risks. Young people can risk their popularity if they resist the pressure of conforming to others. Bestselling books will blame religious people for the violence in the world and tout the virtues of pure reason over against faith. Celebrities insult and demean the church. Such subtle and no-so-subtle jabs at Christianity is a way of displaying the modern and secular moral distaste for Christianity. Of course, it does not rise to the level of the persecuted church in history and experienced in many parts of our world today. Yet, it does leave many Christians uncomfortable and reluctant to share their faith in their modern and secular setting. At the same time, responses from the church to such moral disgust with the church has not always been helpful.
Peter is advising the church to give a defense for the hope they have within them. He is urging the churches to have a form of apologetics that focuses upon faithfulness amid the hostility of culture. How do you witness in a hostile culture?
The first step is an attitude of love. The writer begins in 3: 8 by reminding the churches that they must reflect a “unity of spirit” by focusing on the primary virtues of the Christian life: “sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.” In other words, the way Christians behave with each other is part of their witness to the world. Perhaps one of the reasons that much of the secular world views Christians as rude, angry, judgmental people has to do with the fact that we act this way in our own churches. It is especially hard to love your enemies if you cannot even learn to love your friends! Christians spend a lot of time taking stands on issues and arguing with each other when they should be spending more time on their knees together in prayer. It is not that we should not be vocal, just that we need to filter our words through the screen of God’s unconditional love. Develop the habits of love and grace and we begin to see others, even those who persecute us, as people whom God created and loves.
The second step is to repay evil with blessing. We cannot control the attitudes and actions of others toward us, but we can control how we respond. A violent and bitter world expects reciprocity and revenge. Too many people waste time thinking about how they can get even with someone whom they believe has wronged them. The writer of I Peter echoes Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:10-12) here in verses 9-14. If you want to experience true happiness or blessedness, you need to be willing to repay evil with blessing. That is what the people of God, the followers of Christ are “called” to do.
Repaying evil with good and turning the other cheek is not a popular notion even among many Christians who struggle with the possibility of becoming a doormat for those who would take advantage of their goodness. We are called to bless those who persecute us, to endure unjust suffering if necessary, but we are not called to be silent about it. Notice, we are to use those times to “make [our] defense.” Jesus, of course, is our prime example. His words from the cross and even his silence in the face of his accusers were not passive but revealed a deep strength that was apparent even to his enemies. Our words of love and our attitude of peace amid slander and persecution can speak volumes. When we choose to speak the truth in “gentleness and reverence” we reveal the “hope” that is within us to those who “abuse [us] for [our] good conduct in Christ.” Hearing words of hope, abusers may indeed be convicted and “put to shame” by their conduct (vv. 15-16).
Step three is to face our fears. In a perfect world, no one would harm you if you are eager to do good (verse 13). However, that would mean that life is fair, and we all know that life is not fair. People who do good can become targets for those who want to inflict evil. Our fear of such situations can cause us to lash out at those who threaten us. Christians need to remember that whom they need to honor with their lives, that their lives are in the hands of God, and thus, it will be better to suffer for doing good, accepting it as the will of God in this situation, rather than suffer for doing evil (verse 17).
The fourth step is to ponder deeply the example of Jesus. In one sense, how strange it is that I even need to say this. Yet, we live out the hope we have amid suffering by following the example of Jesus as he suffered. His suffering was able to bring us to God (verse 18). His triumph over death enabled him to proclaim hope to the “spirits in prison.” Jesus was such a fearless witness that he preached even Hades to bring a saving knowledge of God (verses 19-20). Regardless of our situation, be a faithful witness. Our primary vocation as Christians is to learn to be witnesses in the unique historical setting in which God has placed us. we are to make friends, be a friend, and bring the friend to Christ. Think of witness as viewing those around us as future fellow-Christians. We take the lives of those around us so seriously that we are not just tolerant of them, but we also care enough for them to point them to Christ. Thus, Christians must not leave non-Christians at peace. Christians are to have a disturbing presence in the world. Through their lives and verbal witness, Christians need to provide some visible way today that non-Christians can catch a glimpse of their promised future in Christ.[2] We need to hear the following words again:
Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime; Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own; Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.[3]
In Christ, God had taken on the worst the world can dish out and came out the other side victorious. As Jesus’ people, we can respond to the evil of the world not by retaliating, complaining or retreating, but by proclaiming in word and deed the hope that is within us.
I Peter 3:17-22 are the theological support for the exhortation in verses 13-16. Do not court martyrdom. They should follow the example of Christ. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. This seems like a trite truism. Yet, Jewish zealots sought martyrdom through their rebellion. 18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all. This assertion of the universality of the suffering of Christ reminds the reader that those who persecute them today might well become the believers of tomorrow. Just as Paul stated, "while we still were sinners Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8), Peter reminds his hearers that while they are to be righteous, they are not to forget that the unrighteous are also those for whom Christ died. This passage suggests that the nature and efficacy of the suffering and death of Jesus are central issues. There were differing opinions within the early church about the significance of Christ's crucifixion. The church of the first century raised many questions. "Did Jesus really suffer?" "Why did Jesus have to die?" "If Jesus died for sins, is it true that every time we sin, we crucify Jesus again?" It even asked, "What did Jesus do before his resurrection?" Many in the early church held to a Docetic view of the divinity of Christ that denied the humanity of Jesus. A dualistic view of the world grounded early Docetism They considered it impossible that a divine being would ever assume human flesh. The early church regarded this kind of doctrine as heretical. Yes, Jesus really did suffer, and human beings put him to death in the flesh. Furthermore, he suffered for sins once and for all: the righteous for the unrighteous, for Jesus was a righteous man who suffered for the deeds of the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. Peter gets very personal: Jesus died to bring "you" to God. Peter will not allow the argument to get too academic or theoretical. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. What Christians believe about the crucifixion of Jesus is very down-to-earth and very fleshly. It is important for Peter to stress the suffering of Jesus, for the Christians to whom Peter writes are suffering for their faith and need to receive support and encouragement. In suffering, the believer imitates Christ and becomes an example to the unbeliever. Yet, Peter does not make the opposite mistake - stressing the fleshly at the expense of the spirit. Again, we can see a pastoral and personal note to these words. If the believer is going to suffer like Jesus, then Peter wants them to know that they, too, will share the resurrection spirit with Jesus; in short, there is a reward for the present situation. The theology of Peter reflects an earlier strain of tradition. Peter is telling us that death is not a barrier God cannot get past. If death were the last word, then death and not God would be the Supreme Being. However, Peter knows that is not the case because God raised Jesus from the dead. Thus, Paul affirms, "For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living" (Romans 14:9). Peter asserts the supremacy of God over death itself.
I Peter 3:19-20 presents another way in which Jesus is the example for believers. The emphasis is that Christ preached, and that he preached to these evil spirits. That is a model for Christians, who also need to speak boldly before the heathen rulers. Along with I Peter 4:6, this brief passage becomes the basis for the statement in the Apostles' Creed that Christ "descended into hell." Reflecting upon what he just said about death in the flesh and life in the spirit for Jesus, Peter then affirms 19 in which (form) also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison. Jesus is again an example, this time in preaching to the worst of sinners. The death and resurrection of Jesus have broken the power of paganism. This statement alludes to the descent of Christ to Hades between his death and resurrection. His flesh was decaying, so his spirit went there. Some think Matthew 12:40 refers to this event, where the Son of man is in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights. In addition, God frees Jesus from the pangs of Hades, for it was impossible for the power of Hades to hold him (Acts 2:24). God did not abandon Jesus to Hades, where his body did not experience corruption, as one might normally expect (Acts 2:31). Paul refers to going down to the depths and bringing Christ back from the dead (Romans 10:7). Christ had gone down to the deepest levels of the earth (Ephesians 4:9). "Holy ones" came out of their graves, rose from the dead, and appeared to several people (Matthew 27:52-53). The interpretation favored by Calvin, that Jesus died the hellish death of the truly wicked, can be helpful to us when we go through hellish experiences where we feel utterly alone. We can take comfort in knowing that we can go nowhere Christ has not already been. He is present for us even in the darkest places, and though we may feel all on our own, we are not ever godforsaken when we trust him. It suggests that the worst that can befall human beings is within the redeeming embrace of the cross. The reference to spirits in prison could refer to the chained demons mentioned m the Book of Enoch, over whom Christ has authority.[4] Peter raises the difficult matter concerning those who had died before Christ. He seems to reflect an earlier strand of tradition grounded in the imagery of the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the dry bones coming to life (Ezekiel 37:12-13). Peter goes on to identify those in prison as those 20 who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, suggesting the indifference of heathens to the gospel. The spirits in prison could also refer to those who died at the flood.[5] The legends surrounding the corruption of humanity prior to Noah were an important part of Jewish thinking. It is enough to note that by the first century after Christ, this legend had gone through considerable elaboration. Peter is making a statement for the graciousness of God who, through Christ, saves not only the righteous members of Noah's family, but saves even the unrighteous. Peter is stressing that the gospel itself is not limited to the time of Jesus and forward, but also is efficacious retroactively. We need to remember that the faithful dead of the Old Testament find inclusion in the people of God as understood in the New Testament. Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab and other persons of faith and even that "All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them" (Hebrews 11:13).
C.S. Lewis (The Great Divorce) refers to the massive difference between this world and the next. At one point, Lewis describes a conversation between a heavenly guide and a man who is considering entering heaven. They are talking about those who choose hell, and the guide explains that those who do so have shut themselves off from the powers of goodness. So, the man asks, "Then no one can ever reach them?" The guide replies, "Only the Greatest of all can make Himself small enough to enter Hell. For the higher a thing is, the lower it can descend -- a man can sympathize with a horse, but a horse cannot sympathize with a rat. Only One has descended into Hell." The man asks if he will ever do so again. The guide says, "It was not once long ago that He did it. Time does not work that way once ye have left the earth. All moments that have been or shall be, were, or are, present in the moment of His descending. There is no spirit in prison to whom He did not preach." The man asks, "And some hear him?" "Aye," replies the guide.
Further, the spirits in prison lived during the building of the ark, the ark referring to the church, which anticipates the coming disaster. Further still, in which a few, that is, eight persons, God saved through water, symbolizing baptism. The floods saved Noah from evil people; God saves Christians from evil through baptism. The flood signified death of the old world and beginning of the new, so baptism is death of the old person and birth of the new.
St. Gregory Nyssa also wrote an Easter homily called “‘The three-day period of the Resurrection of Christ.” In it, he said Christ purposely concealed his real identity from the devil when he died. So, Satan, thinking Jesus was just another dead human being, swallowed the bait and took Jesus into hell. Too late, Gregory said, Satan realized his mistake. By then, he had admitted the light of Christ into the dark, infernal abode. That meant that Satan had destroyed his own kingdom. The power of God prevailed, even in hell, and God had the last laugh.[6]
Let us step back and look at this. This passage has the very unusual statement that has been the basis of much debate over the years. Peter states in 3:18-19, and again in 4:6, that after his death, but before his ascension, Christ also preached to those who were dead! Peter is here tracing back the resurrection to life to the Spirit. This means that after his own death, Christ made efforts to save sinners from the past, specifically those who did not heed the warning of Noah.[7]We can see a universal perspective in the notion of the descent of Christ into Hades, in that while specifically to those who died at the time of the flood and now in the realm of death, Peter is already using the notion as an expression of the universal significance of the death of Christ for salvation. In the patristic era, this idea expanded to the notion that he preached to all the righteous of preceding ages and even to all who died before the coming of Christ. It found entrance into the consciousness of the church as a guarantee of the reconciling power of the death of Christ. This image of sinful spirits in prison, and the connection to the era of the flood, also occurs in I Enoch 6-11,[8] but in this case, the sinners are the fallen angels mentioned just prior to the flood story. Enoch goes to them to announce their condemnation by God and the judgment of their imprisonment. In I Peter, however, Jesus goes to those imprisoned to give them the good news of salvation![9] The example of the suffering of Christ should make them willing to endure great suffering, in order to bring others to God. All of this becomes a way for Peter to show that Jesus is the paradigm for the proper way to suffer, for his suffering brought salvation to all, righteous and unrighteous alike. The holy conduct of the community in the face of persecution is to serve as an example to the nations that would inspire conversions to the true faith.
I have collected some material that concerns the expansion of the Creed to include the descent into hell. I put it single space because some may have no interest. However, I found it interesting or I would not put it here.
To call that line about the descent of Christ into hell puzzling is no exaggeration. Theologians and biblical scholars do not agree as to what it means and most laypeople have no idea how it fits with the work of Christ. One denomination attempts to avoid the subject altogether by deleting the offending line from the "Traditional Version" of the Apostles' Creed that appears in its official hymnbook, consigning it instead to a small footnote at the bottom of the page that says, "Traditional use of this creed includes these words: 'He descended into hell.'" While some might argue that this denomination is playing fast and loose with the Apostles' Creed, there is some historical justification for it. Apparently, this line was not in the creed as originally formulated. The basic creed appeared in Rome in the middle of the second century A.D., but there is no record of the phrase about the descent of Jesus into hell until about 100 years later. Still, the line is in the creed as handed down to us, and the two references are there in I Peter, so there may be something helpful to learn from the inclusion.
One view is that the phrase simply means that Jesus really died. "Descended into hell" in the creed is an English rendition of the Latin phrase, descendit ad inferna, and inferna is from infernus, which means, "that which is below," that is, the place of the dead. In fact, the rendering in English is usually, "He descended to the dead." Thus, in the Creed, the phrase may simply mean that Jesus, after his death, went where the dead go, to the grave. In that case, the phrase reinforces the previous one: Jesus died and was buried. It underscores that Jesus was dead, making his resurrection all the more remarkable. That was important when some tried to explain away the resurrection by claiming that Jesus was merely in a coma from which he awoke on Easter morning.
Some interpreters saw something else in the phrase, however. John Calvin claimed that since Jesus took upon himself the sins of the world, his death was not just any death, but the kind reserved for the truly wicked. Thus, his death was as hellish as death can get, and that is why, so this line of thinking goes, he utters from the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46).
Still others have interpreted the phrase to mean the first action of Christ in his victory over death. That is, Jesus, in spirit, went to hell, broke down the gates, and gathered all the faithful persons who had lived before he came, and thus had not heard the gospel, and transported them to eternity.
There are some variations on those interpretations, too, but I Peter does suggest some possible directions in its two statements. The first reference, from chapter 3, speaks of Christ's descending to the place of the dead not to rescue the righteous but to preach the gospel to those who were so evil that they perished in the great flood of Noah's day. The second, from chapter 4, speaks of the proclamation of the gospel to the dead whom God has already judged. As Princeton Professor of Homiletics James F. Kay puts it, the descent of Christ is "the place in the Creed where the dead and the damned encounter their Savior and Lord."
The Council of Trent offers its interpretation as well, emphasizing that the descent into Hell took nothing from the dignity of Christ. He went among the dead as a free and victorious being in order to subdue demons. He liberated the holy and just through his descent into the realm of the dead.[10]
As Peter continues, he stresses that 21 baptism, which this saving of the righteous through the flood prefigured,suggesting “corresponding to” or “antitype to.” The type prefigures the reality; in this case, the type is passing through the waters by means of the Ark. The flood is a symbol of Old Testament purification rites that found their limit in external purity, whereas baptism by which a person is reborn can have no limits to its efficacy. A convert at baptism makes the “pledge.” The flood was a counterpart to baptism, death of old beginning of new. Peter stresses now which could mean someone is reading the letter “now” during the baptismal exhortation, and thus, the service is going on “now.” Baptism concerns the acquisition of new virtues. What follows focuses on a specific deed. The emphasis here is positive, putting on new virtues. The ark saved only a few persons from drowning. In this moment, baptism saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience. The emphasis on a "good conscience" plays a significant role in Hebrews and in the Pastoral epistles.[11] I Peter draws a contrast between baptism and water rituals, such as those practiced in Judaism, designed to impart purity. Baptism provided a special dispensation that enabled Christians to endure persecution. One inevitably disturbs ritual purity in the common course of life. One will find need for constant restoration. In fact, such an approach almost demands a magical view of baptism. Yet, the baptism of which Peter writes has the practical effect on conscience, the internal moral compass we have. His death deals with our problem, which is sin. His death alters our standing with God and begins to work on us in such a way as to lead us to a life that properly witnesses to what God has done in Christ.
For a third time, Peter raises a personal and pastoral concern; namely, baptism. He easily connected the story of the flood of Noah's day to baptism and became a popular typology for the sacrament in the early church. However, Peter had a more specific use for the imagery. Peter juxtaposes and thereby compares the unrighteous who tried God's patience (v. 20) with those who are reading Peter's letter ("you" v. 21). Peter is, in a gentle way, warning those who may be wavering not to try God's benevolent patience again. He reminds the reader that God has saved them through the waters of baptism just as God saved Noah through the waters of the flood - both by the grace of God. For Peter, baptism does not simply wash away the dirt of sin but leaves an indelible mark upon the baptized. Just as God protected Noah's family long ago, the baptized believer can now appeal to God to seek protection when the day of final judgment comes.
Many early Christian writers expand on the parallel between the saving waters of baptism and the waters of the great flood through which Noah sailed, and in so doing, saved humanity (Ephrem Syrus, Nativity Hymn 1:56-58). Cyprian, in Epistle 69.2[12] is one example. Tertullian, in On Baptism, 8,[13] refers to the flood as the baptism of the world, after which the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove became a herald of the movement from judgment to redemption and peace. Baptism brings the peace of God to the baptized. The Ark is the church, which saves those in it from judgment. both use this typology. This typology remained popular into the reformation era, where it reached its highest expression in the "Flood Prayer" of Martin Luther.[14] God condemned the unbelieving world to judgment through the flood, but mercifully preserved Noah and his family. God also preserved a people through the Red Sea, and sanctified water in the baptism of the Son in the waters of Jordan. Water becomes a lavish washing away of sin. The prayer is that the one baptized would have true faith through the Holy Spirit. He prays for the drowning of inherited sin in the baptized through the flood of baptism. He also prays for the safety and security of the baptized as they take their place in the holy Ark of the church, separating themselves from the multitude of believers.
The hope I Peter offers is the reassurance that believers are more than able to withstand persecution through the power of Christ. The passage returns to the unambiguous claim that reflects the earliest traditions. Baptism saves through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers [civil dignitaries] made subject to him. This verse connects angels with principalities and powers, suggesting the ambivalence in the Bible of the concept of angels. It could suggest the disobedience of angels.[15] This passage highlights the essentials of the story of salvation: Christ suffered and died, Christ rose again bringing the disobedient spirits along with him, Christ sits at the right hand of God. Yet, for Peter this creedal formulation is more than mere theological reflection - it has very practical and pastoral significance. The truth of the Gospel grounds the timid in their faith, reminds the unsure of the efficacy of baptism, and chides those who might be taken in by heresy to stand firm even in the face of suffering. The image is that of a heavenly court. Satan has the role of accuser in the heavenly court. Jesus has the role of advocate. There is to be no fear in heathen surroundings. He assures the listeners that all the inhabitants of heaven and earth are now under Christ's control. Even those unrighteous who persecute the community are eligible to receive the grace of Christ. Even the dead are not isolated from him, nor cut off from the message of salvation that he has to offer. There is great reassurance here, but there is also a challenge. The Christian community is to withstand persecution with patience and without fear. They know that Christ has sealed their fates. Peter does not endorse hatred of the persecutors, but rather, he refers to the sufferers' example of steadfastness as inspiration to even their tormentors to own the God and Savior who make such endurance possible. In this way, even the poison of persecution can heal.
"One of our gentlemen found time to say 'How delicious!'" declares Aunt Abby. She is speaking to a mortified Mortimer, who has just discovered a corpse in the 1944 movie classic, Arsenic and Old Lace. The film's depiction of rapid death after drinking arsenic-spiked elderberry wine captures perfectly, just perfectly, our fear of this poisonous metallic element. What a surprise, then, to discover that this devious death was not due to arsenic. The killer additions to the elderberry wine were the powerful poisons strychnine and cyanide. While none of us would want to quaff an arsenic apéritif, the symptoms of this poisoning are typically not acute, says Dr. Robert Gallagher of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Contrary to popular opinion, arsenic will not cause you to keel over in a dramatic Hollywood death. Instead, this metallic element predisposes people to a variety of diseases, including skin, bladder, lung and liver cancers, and arsenic poisoning by contaminated drinking water and industrial pollutants stands as a serious public health problem in many parts of the world.[16]
Arsenic trioxide has been used successfully in intravenous form, with limited toxicity, for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia, also known as APL. In other words, arsenic's long and distinguished résumé as a poison of choice has been enriched by a promising new job: as a treatment for certain types of leukemia. Arsenic will not cure all leukemias, but it is promising for APL. Arsenic can work where nothing else seems to help, implying it is an alternative mode of action. These considerations raise hope that the remarkable success of researchers in inducing complete remissions in gravely ill patients with drug-resistant APL is only the beginning of the therapeutic application of arsenic trioxide.
What are some other examples of a little poison that can be healing or helpful? Some possibilities:
• X-rays. Technicians in hospital labs wear badges that record radiation accumulations. One X-ray is helpful; too many in a given period of time can be dangerous.
• Radiation treatment for cancer. It is a tiring process, but a healing one.
• Vaccines. The principle of the vaccine is that a small dose of the bacteria of the very infection we fear can protect against a major attack of the same disease.
Is this a hint that we should rethink the role of tragedy or deep pain in our lives? Do the things we thought would kill us make us stronger? Arsenic remains a horrible thing, as unwelcome as any tragedy or terrible pain we may face. In Bangladesh, naturally generated arsenic is poisoning the water supply, resulting in hideous growths, disease, and death. It may be one of the biggest mass poisonings in history as it contaminates the water supply, poisoning people sip by sip, opening the door to various forms of cancer. The cumulative amounts are what kills people.[17] What a peculiar paradox this is. On the one hand, arsenic in drinking water poses the highest cancer risk ever found, causing hideous growths, disease, and death. On the other hand, arsenic trioxide can induce complete remissions in gravely ill leukemia patients, attacking APL and working where nothing else seems to help. Arsenic both causes cancer and cures it - it is the poison that heals.
Can we say the same of our human sufferings, the tragedies, and deep pains we all face? Do the events that hurt us terribly somehow make us stronger and more faithful? Are they also a kind of poison that heals? The author of I Peter seems to think so. Even "if you suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed," he writes. "For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil." In this acceptance of undeserved pain, we are challenged to follow the example of Jesus, who "suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit" (I Peter 3:14, 17, 18). This last line is the key. Sometimes tragedies, deep pains and undeserved suffering put our flesh to death, but simultaneously bring our spirit to life. A poisonous predicament can make us surprisingly stronger and more spiritually whole.
We know that marriages, families, communities, nations often come together and discover their true strength when some apocalypse - some new revelation of the fault lines in our lives - has occurred. Hospital chaplains see this all the time. For some reason, we human beings seem to learn best how to love when we are a bit broken, when our plans fall apart, when our myths of our self-sufficiency and goodness and safety are shattered. Apocalypse is meant to bring us to our senses, allowing us a sobering, and usually painful, glimpse of what is possible in the new life we build from the ashes of the old.[18]
So how can a poisonous predicament make us surprisingly healthy and strong?
- by giving us an opportunity to pick up the Bible and make its story of struggle our own story.
- by drawing us closer to Christ - the one who was put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.
- by inviting us to take human pain seriously and use it to put the evils of this world on trial.
If we do this, we will find our spirits getting stronger, and our inner hurts beginning to heal. We will discover that the God of the Bible is worthy of our trust, and his bow in the sky is a sign of hope for us and for hurting people around the world.
This may sound like nonsense because our culture encourages us to deny pain and downplay destruction. Author Kathleen Norris points to a conversation in Bill Moyers' book, Genesis, an exchange between two feminists and a black theologian. The women do their best to convince the theologian, a man named Samuel Proctor, that God is murderous, angry, vindictive - and they imply, immature - a God who in a fit of pique brought on the great flood that is described in Genesis. But Proctor keeps asserting the black experience: "Black people identified themselves with Daniel in the lion's den," he says, "the Hebrew boys in the furnace, the Israelites coming out of the Flood. They saw the Bible in the context of their own experience, and they kept it alive. [They took] the Hebrew Bible saga and made it their own story." Norris concludes that the two feminists are able to see nothing but a false reassurance in the sign of the rainbow, but "Proctor insists that 'it's not just a rainbow' but a sign of hope for oppressed people. 'Black people could have put God on trial,' he says, 'but instead we put white supremacy on trial .... I'm living with that bow in the cloud right now. And if I'm the last optimist left, I don't mind that at all'" [19]
The evidence of this type of healing is everywhere:
• Victims of apartheid in South Africa are doing some of the world's best work of forgiveness and reconciliation.
• Recovering alcoholics are among the most effective counselors of people who struggle with drinking.
• Cancer survivors are probably the most tireless advocates for cancer research, and the most effective members of cancer support groups.
• Men and women who have suffered business failures are often persons who know best the value of family and friends.
• Forgiven sinners are the people who understand most deeply the healing and wholeness that God offers us through Jesus Christ. The cup they drink isn't always delicious, but it is a wonderful brew that leads to life, not death.
[1] Inspired by N.T. Wright, Evil and the Justice of God. Downer’s Grove, Ill.: IVP Books, 2006, 125.
[2] Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, IV.3 [73.1]
[3] —Reinhold Niebuhr.
[4] See I Enoch 67:4-69:1. 4 And He will imprison those angels, who have shown unrighteousness, in that burning valley which my grandfather Enoch had formerly shown to me in the west among the mountains of gold 5 and silver and iron and soft metal and tin. And I saw that valley in which there was a great 6 convulsion and a convulsion of the waters. And when all this took place, from that fiery molten metal and from the convulsion thereof in that place, there was produced a smell of sulphur, and it was connected with those waters, and that valley of the angels who had led astray (mankind) burned 7 beneath that land. And through its valleys proceed streams of fire, where these angels are punished who had led astray those who dwell upon the earth. 8 But those waters shall in those days serve for the kings and the mighty and the exalted, and those who dwell on the earth, for the healing of the body, but for the punishment of the spirit; now their spirit is full of lust, that they may be punished in their body, for they have denied the Lord of Spirits 9 and see their punishment daily, and yet believe not in His name. And in proportion as the burning of their bodies becomes severe, a corresponding change shall take place in their spirit for ever and ever; 10 for before the Lord of Spirits none shall utter an idle word. For the judgement shall come upon them, 11 because they believe in the lust of their body and deny the Spirit of the Lord. And those same waters will undergo a change in those days; for when those angels are punished in these waters, these water-springs shall change their temperature, and when the angels ascend, this water of the 12 springs shall change and become cold. And I heard Michael answering and saying: ' This judgement wherewith the angels are judged is a testimony for the kings and the mighty who possess the 13 earth.' Because these waters of judgement minister to the healing of the body of the kings and the lust of their body; therefore they will not see and will not believe that those waters will change and become a fire which burns for ever.
1 And after that my grandfather Enoch gave me the teaching of all the secrets in the book in the Parables which had been given to him, and he put them together for me in the words of the book 2 of the Parables. And on that day Michael answered Raphael and said: ' The power of the spirit transports and makes me to tremble because of the severity of the judgement of the secrets, the judgement of the angels: who can endure the severe judgement which has been executed, and before 3 which they melt away ? ' And Michael answered again, and said to Raphael: ' Who is he whose heart is not softened concerning it, and whose reins are not troubled by this word of judgement 4 (that) has gone forth upon them because of those who have thus led them out ? ' And it came to pass when he stood before the Lord of Spirits, Michael said thus to Raphael: ' I will not take their part under the eye of the Lord; for the Lord of Spirits has been angry with them because they do 5 as if they were the Lord. Therefore all that is hidden shall come upon them for ever and ever; for neither angel nor man shall have his portion (in it), but alone they have received their judgement for ever and ever.
1 And after this judgement they shall terrify and make them to tremble because they have shown this to those who dwell on the earth.
[5] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 105.
[6] —Patricia Kasten, “Rejoice and laugh a little on Easter,” The Compass, March 28, 2018. thecompassnews.org. Retrieved August 29, 2019.
[7] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 6.
1 And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto 2 them beautiful and comely daughters. And the angels, the children of the heaven, saw and lusted after them, and said to one another: 'Come, let us choose us wives from among the children of men 3 and beget us children.' And Semjaza, who was their leader, said unto them: 'I fear ye will not 4 indeed agree to do this deed, and I alone shall have to pay the penalty of a great sin.' And they all answered him and said: 'Let us all swear an oath, and all bind ourselves by mutual imprecations 5not to abandon this plan but to do this thing.' Then sware they all together and bound themselves 6 by mutual imprecations upon it. And they were in all two hundred; who descended in the days of Jared on the summit of Mount Hermon, and they called it Mount Hermon, because they had sworn 7and bound themselves by mutual imprecations upon it. And these are the names of their leaders: Samlazaz, their leader, Araklba, Rameel, Kokablel, Tamlel, Ramlel, Danel, Ezeqeel, Baraqijal, 8 Asael, Armaros, Batarel, Ananel, Zaqiel, Samsapeel, Satarel, Turel, Jomjael, Sariel. These are their chiefs of tens.
1 And all the others together with them took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they began to go in unto them and to defile themselves with them, and they taught them charms 2 and enchantments, and the cutting of roots, and made them acquainted with plants. And they 3 became pregnant, and they bare great giants, whose height was three thousand ells: Who consumed 4 all the acquisitions of men. And when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against 5 them and devoured mankind. And they began to sin against birds, and beasts, and reptiles, and 6 fish, and to devour one another's flesh, and drink the blood. Then the earth laid accusation against the lawless ones.
1 And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields, and breastplates, and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all 2colouring tinctures. And there arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they 3 were led astray, and became corrupt in all their ways. Semjaza taught enchantments, and root-cuttings, 'Armaros the resolving of enchantments, Baraqijal (taught) astrology, Kokabel the constellations, Ezeqeel the knowledge of the clouds, Araqiel the signs of the earth, Shamsiel the signs of the sun, and Sariel the course of the moon. And as men perished, they cried, and their cry went up to heaven . . .
1 And then Michael, Uriel, Raphael, and Gabriel looked down from heaven and saw much blood being 2 shed upon the earth, and all lawlessness being wrought upon the earth. And they said one to another: 'The earth made without inhabitant cries the voice of their cryingst up to the gates of heaven. 3 And now to you, the holy ones of heaven, the souls of men make their suit, saying, "Bring our cause 4 before the Most High."' And they said to the Lord of the ages: 'Lord of lords, God of gods, King of kings, and God of the ages, the throne of Thy glory (standeth) unto all the generations of the 5 ages, and Thy name holy and glorious and blessed unto all the ages! Thou hast made all things, and power over all things hast Thou: and all things are naked and open in Thy sight, and Thou seest all 6 things, and nothing can hide itself from Thee. Thou seest what Azazel hath done, who hath taught all unrighteousness on earth and revealed the eternal secrets which were (preserved) in heaven, which 7 men were striving to learn: And Semjaza, to whom Thou hast given authority to bear rule over his associates. And they have gone to the daughters of men upon the earth, and have slept with the 9 women, and have defiled themselves, and revealed to them all kinds of sins. And the women have 10 borne giants, and the whole earth has thereby been filled with blood and unrighteousness. And now, behold, the souls of those who have died are crying and making their suit to the gates of heaven, and their lamentations have ascended: and cannot cease because of the lawless deeds which are 11 wrought on the earth. And Thou knowest all things before they come to pass, and Thou seest these things and Thou dost suffer them, and Thou dost not say to us what we are to do to them in regard to these.'
1 Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, 2 and said to him: 'Go to Noah and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come 3 upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it. And now instruct him that he may escape 4 and his seed may be preserved for all the generations of the world.' And again the Lord said to Raphael: 'Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening 5 in the desert, which is in Dudael, and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may 6,7 not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire. And heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and proclaim the healing of the earth, that they may heal the plague, and that all the children of men may not perish through all the secret things that the 8 Watchers have disclosed and have taught their sons. And the whole earth has been corrupted 9 through the works that were taught by Azazel: to him ascribe all sin.' And to Gabriel said the Lord: 'Proceed against the bastards and the reprobates, and against the children of fornication: and destroy [the children of fornication and] the children of the Watchers from amongst men [and cause them to go forth]: send them one against the other that they may destroy each other in 10 battle: for length of days shall they not have. And no request that they (i.e. their fathers) make of thee shall be granted unto their fathers on their behalf; for they hope to live an eternal life, and 11 that each one of them will live five hundred years.' And the Lord said unto Michael: 'Go, bind Semjaza and his associates who have united themselves with women so as to have defiled themselves 12 with them in all their uncleanness. And when their sons have slain one another, and they have seen the destruction of their beloved ones, bind them fast for seventy generations in the valleys of the earth, till the day of their judgement and of their consummation, till the judgement that is 13 for ever and ever is consummated. In those days they shall be led off to the abyss of fire: and 14 to the torment and the prison in which they shall be confined for ever. And whosoever shall be condemned and destroyed will from thenceforth be bound together with them to the end of all 15generations. And destroy all the spirits of the reprobate and the children of the Watchers, because 16 they have wronged mankind. Destroy all wrong from the face of the earth and let every evil work come to an end: and let the plant of righteousness and truth appear: and it shall prove a blessing; the works of righteousness and truth' shall be planted in truth and joy for evermore.
17 And then shall all the righteous escape, |
And shall live till they beget thousands of children |
And all the days of their youth and their old age |
Shall they complete in peace. |
18 And then shall the whole earth be tilled in righteousness, and shall all be planted with trees and 19 be full of blessing. And all desirable trees shall be planted on it, and they shall plant vines on it: and the vine which they plant thereon shall yield wine in abundance, and as for all the seed which is sown thereon each measure (of it) shall bear a thousand, and each measure of olives shall yield 20 ten presses of oil. And cleanse thou the earth from all oppression, and from all unrighteousness, and from all sin, and from all godlessness: and all the uncleanness that is wrought upon the earth 21 destroy from off the earth. And all the children of men shall become righteous, and all nations 22 shall offer adoration and shall praise Me, and all shall worship Me. And the earth shall be cleansed from all defilement, and from all sin, and from all punishment, and from all torment, and I will never again send (them) upon it from generation to generation and for ever.
1 And in those days I will open the store chambers of blessing which are in the heaven, so as to send 2 them down upon the earth over the work and labour of the children of men. And truth and peace shall be associated together throughout all the days of the world and throughout all the generations of men.'
[9] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 3, 616.
[10] Council of Trent:
QUESTION V
Nothing was taken from the Dignity of Christ by his Descent into Hell
But, although Christ descended into hell, his supreme power was nought diminished; nor was the splendour of his holiness denied by any blemish. Nay, this fact served rather to prove most clearly, that whatever had been proclaimed touching his holiness was true; and that, as he had previously declared by so many miracles, he was truly the Son of God. This we shall easily understand, if we compare the causes why Christ, and why other men, have descended into those places. They all descended as captives; but He, free and victorious amongst the dead, descended to subdue those demons by whom, in consequence of sin, they were held in captivity. All others who descended, some did endure the most acute torments, others, though exempt from other pain, yet deprived of the sight of God, were tortured with suspense by the hope deferred of the blessed glory which they expected; whereas Christ the Lord descended, not to suffer aught, but to liberate from the miserable wearisomeness of that captivity the holy and the just, and to impart to them the fruit of his passion. By his descent into hell, therefore, no diminution was made from his supreme dignity and power.
[11] In Peter, the syntax is somewhat ambiguous. As stated in the NRSV, the appeal made to God does not necessarily mean that God will give a good conscience in return. In contrast, the translation found in the Jerusalem Bible (JB) implies that in baptism the believer pledges him or herself to God with a good conscience. The second is somewhat more palatable, which may mean the first is more authentic. In Hebrews, the author believes that in Christ a pure conscience is all but guaranteed (10:22). This may indicate that the JB translators are correct.
[12] But, moreover, the very interrogation which is put in baptism is a witness of the truth. For when we say, "Dost thou believe in eternal life and remission of sins through the holy Church?" we mean that remission of sins is not granted except in the Church, and that among heretics, where there is no Church, sins cannot be put away. Therefore they who assert that heretics can baptize, must either change the interrogation or maintain the truth; unless indeed they attribute a church also to those who, they contend, have baptism. It is also necessary that he should be anointed who is baptized; so that, having received the chrism,(6) that is, the anointing, he may be anointed of God, and have in him the grace of Christ. Further, it is the Eucharist whence the baptized are anointed with the oil sanctified on the altar.(7) But he cannot sanctify the creature of oil,(8) who has neither an altar nor a church; whence also there can be no spiritual anointing among heretics, since it is manifest that the oil cannot be sanctified nor the Eucharist celebrated at all among them. But we ought to know and remember that it is written, "Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head,"(9) which the Holy Spirit before forewarned in the Psalms, lest any one going out of the way and wandering from the path of truth should be anointed by heretics and adversaries of Christ. Besides, what prayer can a priest who is impious and a sinner offer for a baptized person? since it is written, "God heareth not a sinner; but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth His will, him He heareth."(10) Who, moreover, can give what he himself has not? or how can he discharge spiritual functions who himself has lost the Holy Spirit? And therefore he must be baptized and renewed who comes untrained to the Church, that he may be sanctified within by those who are holy, since it is written, "Be ye holy, for I am holy, saith the Lord."(11) So that he who has been seduced into error, and baptized(12) outside of the Church, should lay aside even this very thing in the true and ecclesiastical baptism, viz., that he a man coming to God, while he seeks for a priest, fell by the deceit of error upon a profane one.
[13] In the next place the hand is laid on us, invoking and inviting the Holy Spirit through benediction.[21] Shall it be granted possible for human ingenuity to summon a spirit into water, and, by the application of hands from above, to animate their union into one body[22] with another spirit of so clear sound;[23] and shall it not be possible for God, in the case of His own organ,[24] to produce, by means of "holy hands,"[25] a sublime spiritual modulation? But this, as well as the former, is derived from the old sacramental rite in which Jacob blessed his grandsons, born of Joseph, Ephrem[26] and Manasses; with his hands laid on them and interchanged, and indeed so transversely slanted one over the other, that, by delineating Christ, they even portended the future benediction into Christ.[27] Then, over our cleansed and blessed bodies willingly descends from the Father that Holiest Spirit. Over the waters of baptism, recognising as it were His primeval seat,[1] He reposes: (He who) glided down on the Lord "in the shape of a dove,"[2] in order that the nature of the Holy Spirit might be declared by means of the creature (the emblem) of simplicity and innocence, because even in her bodily structure the dove is without literal[3] gall. And accordingly He says, "Be ye simple as doves."[4] Even this is not without the supporting evidence[5] of a preceding figure. For just as, after the waters of the deluge, by which the old iniquity was purged--after the baptism, so to say, of the world--a dove was the herald which announced to the earth the assuagement[6] of celestial wrath, when she had been sent her way out of the ark, and had returned with the olive-branch, a sign which even among the nations is the fore-token of peace;[7] so by the self-same law[8] of heavenly effect, to earth--that is, to our flesh[9]--as it emerges from the font,[10] after its old sins flies the dove of the Holy Spirit, bringing us the peace of God, sent out from the heavens where is the Church, the typified ark.[11] But the world returned unto sin; in which point baptism would ill be compared to the deluge. And so it is destined to fire; just as the man too is, who after baptism renews his sins:[12] so that this also ought to be accepted as a sign for our admonition.
[14] Almighty and eternal God, according to Your strict judgment You condemned the unbelieving world through the flood, yet according to Your great mercy You preserved believing Noah and his family, eight souls in all. You drowned hard-hearted Pharaoh and all his host in the Red Sea, yet led Your people Israel through the water on dry ground, prefiguring this washing of Your Holy Baptism. Through the Baptism in the Jordan of Your beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, You sanctified and instituted all waters to be a blessed flood, and a lavish washing away of sin. We pray that You would behold (name) according to Your boundless mercy and bless him with true faith by the Holy Spirit that through this saving flood all sin in him which has been inherited from Adam and which he himself has committed since would be drowned and die. Grant that he be kept safe and secure in the holy ark of the Christian Church, being separated from the multitude of unbelievers and serving Your name at all times with a fervent spirit and a joyful hope, so that, with all believers in Your promise, he would be declared worthy of eternal life, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[15] Pannenberg, Systematic Theology Volume 2, 105.
[16] (Robert E. Gallagher, M.D., "Arsenic - New Life for an Old Potion," The New England Journal of Medicine, November 5, 1998, Volume 339, Number 19).
[17] (Barry Bearak, "Death By Arsenic: A Special Report; New Bangladesh Disaster: Wells That Pump Poison," The New York Times, November 10, 1998, A1).
[18] -Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith (New York: Riverhead Books, 1998), 321.
[19] (Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith [New York: Riverhead Books, 1998], 320-321).
I particularly liked how to deal with persecution and how we are to be different for the world. I think that is the key question for today. How does the church establish a difference from a secularized culture. I have always wondered why a pagan would become a christian. I understand why a jew would but why would a pagan. What is in the message of the gospel that would attract them?
ReplyDeleteJust wondering myself. I could be comfortable with a purely immanent understanding of our calling, accountability for our way of life. Do you not think that such a secular person might have to come to a point of dissatisfaction with their way of life and what they have come to believe as a guide to their life? Such dissatisfaction may make a person open to something else, and the gospel may address the need. Just wondering aloud. Secularism has its own idols that may prove themselves to be insufficient.
DeleteI think your observation is true. I think Taylor goes there too. At some point for some people what they are basing their life on doesn't work, is not enough hence a turn to alternatives. Christianity provides that. But the approach has not be in terms of "magic" but in terms of a better life.
ReplyDelete