Cold Calculation and Manic Manipulation

That’s the phrase that sprang to mind while I watched the announcement on the evening news about Biden’s selection as Obama’s VP. Every little decision these politicians make is meticulously weighed in the balances and produced only to maximum benefit. ‘Biden will win the areas where Obama had a hard time connecting with blue collar and middle class white workers’ which is politico-speak for ‘Obama can’t win this demographic himself, so we must pick a running mate who will resonate with them’.

I guess that sounds ok- until you ponder the meaning. Politicians think the public so utterly gullible and ignorant that they can shovel any load of manure and it will be believed. They don’t care about YOU, they care about WINNING your vote- by whatever means necessary- so that when they get in office they can pursue their own agenda. This is, I think, true of all political parties and stripes and is the chief reason why I despise politics. For politicians, the ends always justify the means- no matter how unethical or misleading or manipulative or calculating. We need a monarch or a theocracy to rid us of this bawlderdash.

So I’d like to nominate Ted Kennedy for King. And if that doesn’t fly, I’d like to nominate Billy Graham for Theocratic High Priest. Either one would be superior to the present system.

Stephen Pfann: The Interview

Stephen has been interviewed about the Dead Sea Scrolls (and thanks to Antonio for the tip) by CBN. Stephen is reported as saying

“[The biblical scrolls are also important] because we can hold the same scrolls in our hands that they held in their hands 2,000 years ago. And when somebody sits there with their New Testament and their Bibles in the United States and they’re listening to their favorite sermon, they can know that this Bible was based upon manuscripts that people held in their hands from 2,000 years ago.”

Antonio asks of an earlier quote- did Stephen really say this? And I have to admit that I would ask the same question here. Did Stephen really say this? For surely he above all others knows that there are no New Testament manuscripts at Qumran, as this quote seems to imply!

Reporters can blow it- and we’ve all seen them do exactly that when it comes to biblical related subjects- but no one should imagine for half a second that the New Testament is in any way included among the DSS.   CBN may have a theological ax to grind here, but their apparent supposition is so obviously wrong.  Stephen, would you please clarify? Or, are there in fact scrolls that demonstrate that the NT manuscripts are quite similar to those found at Qumran? [I just don't believe that- in spite of some claims that Mark is indeed found there].

UPDATE: Stephen responds thusly:

This quote is correct but, lacks the full context for that statement. And I do see how it can be easily misunderstood. I was asked by Chris Mitchell of CBN if the New Testament was found at Qumran. I replied “No”. The posited Gospel of Mark fragment from cave 7 remains unconvincing. There are manuscripts that have similar language to the New Testament (such as the so-called “Son of God text”) which confirm that parallels to certain unusual titles and statements did in fact exist. However, these are no quotes from the New Testament among the scrolls.

At least three Old Testament text traditions were discovered among the caves at Qumran. One of these is called “Proto-Masoretic”, and is understood to be the tradition that lies behind our present Hebrew Bibles, and is amazingly close from a textual standpoint.

The (Hebrew) Bible at it was widely quoted in the New Testament (aside from the Septuagint) has generally proven to be quite similar to the Proto-Masoretic line of manuscripts. In this way the New Testament itself, in most cases, was relying upon the same textual traditon that led to the text we use in our Bibles today.

This is all that was intended in the interview. Sorry, no New Testament books from the first century have been discovered so far among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Just the same we should never give up hope that some other books of the Bible might be discovered some time in the future. For example, another book of the Hebrew Bible has recently been identified, presumably from Qumran. At the time of this interview last winter, I stated that Esther, Nehemiah and 1 Chronicles were the only books of the Old Testament that were not found at Qumran, which was true at the time. (Since then Prof. Charlesworth, while attending the July Conference at the Shrine of the Book, revealed a photograph of a fragment of the book of Nehemiah, that was from a private collection).

Stephen Pfann

Charles Halton: YouTube Superstar!

Charles is the Awilum guy (see biblioblogs.com) and he’s on YouTube. For real- not like Tilling the gymnast. Take a look. His subject- ‘How Big Was Nineveh?’

Speaking of the Scrolls, Logos, Why Do You Try Me So?

Logos, oh Logos, why are you trying to push me over the very brink of sanity itself by not yet shipping the (for me) long awaited Qumran Biblical Scrolls? Is it because you loathe me? Do I not shower sufficiently? Am I to you a foul and stinky beast not worthy of having in hand something desirable? Logos… oh Logos…. I’ve composed a poem to express the depths of my despair and my longing for your scrolls…

Long I’ve waited for you to appear
So that I could hold you near;
But you do tease and scorn me so
As though I were nothing to you but tow.

Alas long longed for artifact divine
that Logos would ship you and make you mine;
But my lack of hygiene doth declare
They hold me in contempt: Despair!

So to the shower I’ll now attend
to bring my waiting to an end;
And when the weekend bows its head
And mail comes- on Monday, Dread!

I’ll seek my box to find therein
nothing but air, and bills, and sin.

And you’ll be blamed, Logos dear,
for yet more months of death that’s near.

Baptist Identities

Another of the fantastic volumes sent along by James Spinti is this gem-

Baptist Identities

And one of the essays that makes it such a gem is that of Karen Smith, whose ‘Preparation as a Discipline of Devotion in Eighteenth Century England: A Lost Facet of Baptist Identity?’ (pp. 22ff) increases the value of the volume.

Smith’s really important contribution to this volume prods Baptists to consider their devotional roots by reminding them that ‘… for early Baptists there was never a sense in which one was merely a believer alone, but one was always bound to Christ and thereby bound inextricably also to those who were within the covenant community and, as such, part of his body, the church’ (p. 22).  Smith goes on to describe early Baptists and their understanding of conversion and commitment and how personal reflection and private devotion led them to prepare their hearts for church membership, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and, ultimately, death.

Private devotions with communal implications have disappeared for many Baptists under the cover of simply private devotions for personal sake.  A community oriented devotional practice is much needed in these days of individualism and self centeredness.  Smith’s work is a much needed corrective to much current practice.

On Reading and Hearing Scripture

23 August, 1525: Zürich

Reformed Press reports today that the Pastor of the Grossmünster has published a new Flugschrift at the Froschauer Publishing House (the FPH).  The three page publication aims at explaining how the Monks at the Monastary at the little town of Rüti should approach the important task of reading and hearing Scripture.

Huldrych Zwingli continues to pump out Flugschriften, pamphlets, and books in his efforts to spread the new Reform of the Church that he has called for here in the Swiss Confederation.  The full title of the Flugschrift published today is Wie sich die Mönche zu Rüti mit Lesen und Hören der heiligen Schrift verhalten sollen.  Insiders report that it is a subject very near and dear to Pastor Zwingli’s heart and that, further, he was delighted to have the opportunity to explain in the shortest form how Reformed Christians ought to approach Bible reading.

Though Zwingli’s foes are already carping about the importance of tradition and the inability of the unlearned masses to understand anything at all, Zwingli has countered that when one is RIGHTLY guided by the Holy Spirit and correctly trained in exegesis, even the laity can read with profit the sacred writings.  And as if to drive home the point, when asked about the latest Flugschrift, Zwingli replied, “Yes, this is exactly the sort of thing that we are doing at the newly established ‘Prophezei’ which meets daily at the Church.  So I wanted to share with others our approach.”

The Prophezei meets each weekday morning from 6 to 8 and the participants read the Scripture in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin and then one of the City Pastors explains the passage of the day’s meaning.  The public is invited.

[Staff reporters for RP contributed to this report].