Heracles and 1 John 2 13 14 (original) (raw)
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This book combines a socio-rhetorical analysis of 1 John with traditional biblical exegesis of Genesis 1:1,2 to make a case of international development as cosmic battle. God created everything and every possibility, but something went wrong and the land became tohu wabohu: destroyed and desolate. Jesus was the new beginning and 1 John shows how God's children join the cosmic battle, engaging in overcoming evil with good.
The Temptation of Buddha/Christ and the Fourth Gospel
This study, with its revelation of significant parallels between the ‘Temptation’ of the Buddha and of Jesus, is featured as a chapter in my anthological volume, ‘The Unknown Buddha of Christianity’. It was written by Professor Zacharias Thundy in response to a statement I had made in ‘Buddhism’s Relation to Christianity’ (2010), wondering how it was that the Gospel of John did not have an episode of Jesus being tempted by Satan. In this essay, Professor Thundy has shown that the ‘temptation motif’ is, actually, to be found throughout John’s entire Gospel, as well as the Synoptic Gospels, and is, “in the wider context of the doctrine of atonement, the central biblical teaching that Jesus redeemed mankind from the captivity and control by Satan.”
A Pardes Reading of John's Gospel
The Fathers developed a fourfold hermeneutic, based on the Fourfold Gospel, called quadriga (“chariot drawn by four horses”). The approach began in the East and came to the West. Appropriating the dualistic schema of human nature, the Bible may be read physically and spiritually. The body of Scripture is its literal (or historical) sense. The inner or spiritual dimension may be divided into three other senses: the typological, moral, and anagogical. We shall explain these senses, but here we may ponder this intriguing metaphor: reading the Gospels should take us somewhere. Elijah was taken up to heaven on a cloud chariot. The early church saw a call to evangelism. The Rabbis were also developing a fourfold hermeneutic to the Old Testament, given the acronym pardes (“paradise”) in Hebrew. They have God declare: "Is not my word like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces? [Jer 23:29]. As the hammer causes numerous sparks to flash forth, so is a verse of Scripture capable of many interpretations" (b. San. 34a). The key is “my word.” If God’s the ultimate author of Scripture—what Jews and Christians have always believed until recently—then its meaning cannot be contained in jars like “the original intent of the human author.” God’s Word means what God intends. The Fathers and Rabbis appear to have influenced each other. Both presumed the inerrancy of Scripture. We find a lot in common with their approaches but also some differences. I have chosen to synthesize their work as homage to our common heritage, with the hope of fostering dialogue between our faiths. I also integrate some of the gains of modern biblical scholarship.