Archive for the ‘Fancy’ Category

Pajamas: A Question of Christian Liberty


01 Jun

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Posted in Christianity, Fancy | 5 Comments »

I ran across the most intriguing Facebook discussion today. Perhaps intriguing isn’t quite the right word. Perhaps outrageous would be more descriptive. A popular pastor posted this as his status:

I will never understand the people who go to the store in their pajamas. If we wanted to see u in them we would come to your house.

This status caught my attention, for I have long desired to walk about openly in my super cheerful pj’s. I still desire to indulge my youthful exuberance – to take a walk on the wild side in my bright blue, cherry patterned flannel night shirt and long bottoms. PJ wearing has always brightened my day when the going gets tough. I liken them to comfort food for the soul. Little did I realize that this behavior was controversial or at least difficult to understand. So I followed the Facebook comments to this posting. Much to my surprise, the Christian community has a lot to say on this topic.

Dare I step outside in my pj's?

The public commentary concerning this topic was mixed. Many took the side of the misunderstood pajamas wearers.  They heartily extended their support to those sporting flannel sock monkey apparel through understanding that many find shopping more relaxing while in their comfy clothes. One anonymous man commented why he thinks people publicly wear pajamas:

I think it’s because it’s nice and relaxing. Which it is and also who cares how a person looks when they go to the store it’s not like anyone needs to impress others with how they dress. As long as they are comfy in it.

Another, less understanding, stated that donning nightwear during the daytime in public is a sign of the downfall of society:

The downfall of the American society: a lack of propriety by people who are too lazy to spend all that time and effort putting on real clothes before leaving their house. (Secretly though, it’s not that hard to get dressed once you’re over age five and have mastered those tricky buttons and zippers.)

One even attributed wearing pj’s to the store as unloving (yikes):

To all those who have made comments about public pj wearing as it relates to Christian liberty:

I’m not casting stones because I stand guilty of this faux pas myself. That being said, I believe part of loving your neighbor as yourself is having good manors, tact and decorum. Good manors and the like are more about treating people around you with respect, not necessarily making yourself look good. By treating other with respect, you show them you love them, thereby obeying Christ’s commands.

So if the aforementioned comment is accurate, it seems that Christ commands us to not wear our jammies to the store. It offends people and is in poor taste as well as being unloving. (Egads!) I suppose that it could be said of anyone wearing any outfit – any outfit you don’t approve of.

Surely, that homeless woman with the Kroger’s shopping cart could find something more appropriate to wear while strolling through campus. You know the lady I am referring to – the one with the unkempt hair and the support stockings that keep falling to her ankles. I am sure her attire has offended many – after all that faded daisy house coat has got to be from the 50′s. When was the last time she laundered those clothes? Geez. She needs to be more loving and put on something less offensive.  (I wonder where Jesus’ brother James would seat this woman at his church gatherings.)

That being said, not only could our attire be unloving since it offends, but public pj wearing is also an heart issue and a sin issue if we are to believe what another person posited.

wearing pajamas to public is not a pajamas issue but a heart issue.
there’s sin in being lazy and in not loving your neighbor. and there’s also sin in caring about what people think of you. both could be an idol.

Okay, so now I’m really confused. If I wear pj’s outside of my own home, then I am being lazy and not loving my neighbor. I have offended others by not respecting them with my attire, so I better choose carefully what I wear. On the other hand,  if I care what others think of me, then now I have sinned yet again. So many rules. So many differing opinions. So many fallible humans to please. Help!

So I ask, “Why not please God?” Why not be free from all these petty rules? Why put ourselves under some arbitary regulations when we have been bought with a price? Have we not be set free? Have not the bonds of slavery been released? Galatians 5:1 says,

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

So, idk. Why make a fuss about what someone is wearing? Honestly anymore I just appreciate that someone is wearing clothes. So will I make a trip to ACME in my jammers? Should I dare to offend? Or should I live under the law of liberty?

What would you do?

Jewish Princess?


07 Oct

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Posted in Fancy, family | 3 Comments »

For years I have joked with people that I am a Jewish American Princess. This started in college. Many people would ask me if I were Jewish. I’m not sure why so many people inquired about my ethnicity – I just figured it was my nose and I reminded them of Barbara Streisand. I was also rather demanding and ostentatious.

On occasion I would wonder was I Jewish. Were people seeing something I couldn’t see? After all my father was adopted and his biological father was a Russian immigrant who moved here near the 1930′s. Many Jews left Europe prior to the war. I wondered, “Was my grandfather Jewish?”

I found this fun web site – about origins of Surnames. My father’s adopted name has Jewish origins. I never knew Gerber was Hebrew. I thought it to be German.

When my dad was adopted – his adoption was open. That was very unusual for adoptions of the day. Most were closed – no information was shared. He had an opportunity to meet his biological mother – she has an Eastern European background. He decided to never meet her or his maternal siblings. He never had contact with his father.

The question still stands, “Why was this adoption open?”

Still there is the mystery of my biological grandfather. Who was he really? Why did his family immigrate to the United States? Do I have a Jewish background?

I suppose it does not really matter, but this silly web site just got me thinking. Maybe I am a Jewish American Princess. That is just an outrageous thought.

Did Peter Write Hebrews?


03 May

Posted in Christianity, Fancy | 4 Comments »

I recently came across an article that postulates that the author of the Book of Hebrews is not Paul, Luke, Barnabas, Apollos or Aquila, but rather the author is Peter.

Before reading this article, I laughed, “Peter, you must be kidding me.” But then I hesitated as I have been studying the Petrine epistles. The Books of 1Peter and 2Peter are quite amazing in detail and are so full of rich theology that I just had to read this article with an open mind.

The Authorship of the Book of Hebrews is an article written by Jeffrey S. Bowman. In this excerpt, Bowman first refutes the authorship of Paul:

Guthrie in his volume “New Testament Introduction” states: “Most modern writers find more difficulty in imagining how this Epistle was ever attributed to Paul than in disposing of the theory.” [1] Guthrie continues and lists five arguments against a Pauline authorship. Summarized they are as follows: 1. The anonymity of the book is not in keeping with Paul’s pattern. 2. Differences in style. 3. The absence or lack of Pauline spiritual experience. 4. Theological differences both theoretical and practical. 5. A different historical position of the writer than Paul. [2] One can also find similar arguments against Paul or a student of Paul’s authorship of Hebrew in the research of many able New Testament scholars. Books by Milligan, Zahn, and Allen & Grensted are of note. [3]

Bowman further demonstrates that Paul was the Apostle to the Uncircumcised while Peter was entrusted as a Pillar of the Church and his Ministry was to shepherd the Jewish flock.

The language that Paul uses in his letters is geared towards Gentiles, non-Jews, while the language in Hebrews is Hebrew-centric.

Examples from his article:

Paul’s Patterns

Hebrew’s Presentation

Christ being the Head of the Body of believers (I Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 1:22,23; 4:14,15; 5:23; Col. 1:18; 2:10,19).

Christ is the High Priest over the People of Israel (Heb. 2:17; 3:1; 4:14,15; 5:5,20; 9:11,12,19-23; 13:11,12).

The Believer’s unconditional eternal union with Christ (Rom. 8:26-36; I Cor. 5:5; Eph. 1:3-5,13,14; 2:5-9; 4:30).

The Believer’s potential to “fall away” from eternal union with Christ (Heb. 6:4-6,9-12; 10:26-39).

Preoccupation with showing the equal status between Jew and Gentile as the people of God (Rom. 1:16; 3:9-11, 22,23; 4:9-12; ch. 9-11; I Cor. 1:24; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:11-22; 3:6; Col 3:11).

Preoccupation with showing Israel as THE PEOPLE of God (2:17; 4:9; 5:3; 7:5,11,27; 8:8,10; 9:7,19; 11:25; 13:17).

Use of the word WORLD over 40 times with special reference to the global aspect of Christ’s redemption (II Cor 5:19; Col. 1:4-6; I Tim. 3:16). Paul uses kosmos in a broad manner. It is a common Pauline term.

Not one usage of the word WORLD is in reference to Christ’s act of redemption. Rather Israel is seen as the only beneficiary (2:17; 7:27; 13:12). Kosmos used only 5 times in a narrow context.

Israel’s FALL into a state of “Lo Ammi” (Rom. 11; Eph 2).

Israel’s RISE into the promised Covenant (8:8-13; 10:16,29; 12:24; 13:20)

Bowman calls Peter the “Forgotten Apostle of the Circumcision.” He then proceeds “to observe ‘fingerprint patterns’ consisting of style and vocabulary” and then to look into Hebrews and draw a great connection.

The parallels between the Petrine letters and Hebrews are strong. Although Bowman lists many, here is a sampling of those passages that carry similar imprints:

PETER HEBREWS
I Peter 1:2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied. 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.10:2 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
I Peter 2:25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 5:4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant
I Peter 4:14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
I Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, 5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come.
I Peter 3:21. The like figure [antitupon] whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures [antitupon] of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.*** note *** The greek word [antitupon] only appears in these two passages.

These are just a few of the “finger prints” that Bowman points out to us. I have got to say that this is most intriguing and so encouraging for someone like me who can so easily identify with Peter – brash, head-strong, broken and Spirit-filled Peter.

In Acts 1:20 -22, we see that it was Peter who was quite familiar with the scriptures. It is Peter who quotes from Psalms and convinces everyone that someone needs to take the leadership position that Judas forsook:

“For,” said Peter, “it is written in the book of Psalms,
   ” ‘May his place be deserted;
      let there be no one to dwell in it,’ and,
   ” ‘May another take his place of leadership.’ Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

Peter was an amazing man. Earlier in John 21, Jesus reinstates Peter as the one who will shepherd his flock. It is quite evident here in Acts that Peter was no longer one who lacked both restraint and discernment. He immediately gets down to work – work that glorifies Christ. Peter can no longer be identified with the frightened coward. He now speaks with power and authority. He is now both bold and courageous.

Once he was filled with the Spirit, his giftings became even more evident and fruit producing. In chapter Acts 2, Peter takes the lead and speaks, relying heavily upon the scriptures. He persuades 3,000 men (plus women and children) to come to Christ at that time. Later, Peter and John are arrested for speaking with such authority and mighty command of the word. Peter gives an amazing defense and turns the tables on the religious leaders of the day.  Peter, filled with the Spirit, was able to do amazing things. He was able to confound those who would not believe or be moved by the prompting of the Spirit. Peter was a man who knew his word.

From the speeches in Acts and from the Petrine letters, we see that Peter could have indeed written the complex and theology rich letter of Hebrews. Christ understood that the church would be build upon the Rock, Petras. It was not only Peter’s amazing faith that Christ saw, but it could also have been Peter’s deep love and understanding of the Word.

Perhaps no introduction was necessary for the author of Hebrews. Perhaps it was “a given,” as all knew who Peter was and that he spoke with God inspired authority. Peter was the Rock upon which the church was built.

So I thank you Mr. Bowman for writing such a wonderful article. I know that no one can know for certain who wrote this book. From now on though, it delights my soul to consider and titillates my mind to think that it was Peter who composed such a mighty work.

Perhaps Hebrews was to the circumcised as Romans was to the uncircumcised. Perhaps Peter was just as an amazing theologian as Paul was. Who can know just how amazing it is to be filled and empowered through and by the Holy Spirit? Who can fully comprehend?

Peter used his gifting so well. I can only hope that someday the Lord will use and refine the gifts that he has given to me. Please read this article by Bowman. You will not be disappointed. You may even become inspired by both the Holy Spirit and by the Word.

The Heart Matters

Striving together “that God may be all in all”