The I Am statements and a different process?

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Waterfall: "Just saying, maybe these different heavens are different teachings we need to learn and practice to keep growing closer to God and it's available to us now, not when we die."

Ancient Judaism and early Christianity both locate Paradise (= "park" or "garden") in the 3rd Heaven and both consider it a realm or dimension of the afterlife, not as a way of being in this life. Indeed, Paul teaches that the Christian faith is a tragic waste of time without the hope of a wonderful afterlife (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).
 
So we must go with "the" then. Jesus is "the way, the truth, the life" as traditionally said. Which reads rather exclusive to me unless you accept that he is speaking only to his context, namely his followers in 1st Century Judaea and Galilee.
 
Mendalla said:
So we must go with "the" then. Jesus is "the way, the truth, the life" as traditionally said.
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You are right, as in that is the text. And John is the most Christological of the gospels, with theological statements littered throughout.

BUT (and I've always got a "but"), if you were a person who had heard Jesus speak as a prophet, would you not have, like a student listening to a lecture, mentally remember, "way, truth, life", and the prepositions colour this phrase exclusive or inclusive.
 
I just searched for info on biblical Greek and learned there is only one article (the)

However it has 24 forms depending on how it appears in a sentence. The explanation lost me completely. :unsure:
 
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me[f] for anything, I will do it.
I kind of did a mental double take when this was read in church today. Even though I profess to be a Christian, although imperfect and sometimes questioning, I don't give Jesus magic powers to do whatever I want or need. When I heard this scripture I thought...maybe I should try to ask for my husband's cancer to be cured. Instead, I've been praying for strength to live life to the fullest while we can, and to get through whatever trials are ahead. I ask for comfort, and hope. I ask for help with his pain. Maybe I have limited God in my asking. I'm afraid to ask for too much.
 
Nancy said:
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me[f] for anything, I will do it.
I kind of did a mental double take when this was read in church today. Even though I profess to be a Christian, although imperfect and sometimes questioning, I don't give Jesus magic powers to do whatever I want or need. When I heard this scripture I thought...maybe I should try to ask for my husband's cancer to be cured. Instead, I've been praying for strength to live life to the fullest while we can, and to get through whatever trials are ahead. I ask for comfort, and hope. I ask for help with his pain. Maybe I have limited God in my asking. I'm afraid to ask for too much.
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I'm like that too, especially when I think of children suffering in the world, how dare I ask and bother God when there are others that may need it more.
 
paradox3 said:
I just searched for info on biblical Greek and learned there is only one article (the)

However it has 24 forms depending on how it appears in a sentence. The explanation lost me completely. :unsure:
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Well, isn't that fun. I got the info just from the lady who has a side-by-side Greek translation. This is one of the reasons why we have a bunch of ministers involved in this group, although it didn't help in this case...
 
Mystic said:
Indeed, Paul teaches that the Christian faith is a tragic waste of time without the hope of a wonderful afterlife (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).
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How can helping the poor, feeding the hungry, taking care of widows etc....be considered a waste of life?
I'm sure those helped would argue otherwise, and probably Jesus himself.
 
@Nancy, strangely enough with the rest of my beliefs, I do believe in unexpected miracles. However, I think your prayer as it is will get you the unexpected if it's going to happen, and comfort on this journey if it isn't. Hugs. I really respect how you shared your heart's desire in this post. Thank you.
 
Nancy said:
I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me[f] for anything, I will do it.
I kind of did a mental double take when this was read in church today. Even though I profess to be a Christian, although imperfect and sometimes questioning, I don't give Jesus magic powers to do whatever I want or need. When I heard this scripture I thought...maybe I should try to ask for my husband's cancer to be cured. Instead, I've been praying for strength to live life to the fullest while we can, and to get through whatever trials are ahead. I ask for comfort, and hope. I ask for help with his pain. Maybe I have limited God in my asking. I'm afraid to ask for too much.
Click to expand...
As someone who has written fantasy about people binding and controlling spirits, I really question the idea of a God who works that way. So basically using Jesus' name in making the request is a magic spell/ritual that binds "God" (at least the Second Person if you're talking Trinitarian)?
 
Mendalla said:
As someone who has written fantasy about people binding and controlling spirits, I really question the idea of a God who works that way. So basically using Jesus' name in making the request is a magic spell/ritual that binds "God" (at least the Second Person if you're talking Trinitarian)?
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Yet Paul also likes to tell us it's possible to be content in even the worst situations...that's a hard one to accomplish.
 
Waterfall said:
" I am the way, and the truth and the life"
Is this an exclusive or inclusive statement?
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The Johannine hymn identifies Christ as "the Logos," which, used philosophically, means "the rational Self-expression of God" as opposed to God in His unknowability. Understood thus, "I am the Way" can mean "I am the divinely sanctioned rational way of Being. This understanding opens up the possibility
that non-Christian gods or substitutes for the Ultimate might embody this way of being in various degrees of adequacy.
The claim "No one comes to the Father but by Me" does not claim no one comes to the Higher Power or Ultimate but by Me. Rather, it claims that no one experiences and establishes an intimate connection with God as "Abba Father," but by me. Muslims reject the personalized concept of God as a Father.
Paul teaches that pagans can potentially be saved through adequate piety apart from formal profession of faith in Christ, that is, through their imperfect equivalence of relating to their grasp of the divine.
 
Mystic said:
Waterfall: "Just saying, maybe these different heavens are different teachings we need to learn and practice to keep growing closer to God and it's available to us now, not when we die."

Ancient Judaism and early Christianity both locate Paradise (= "park" or "garden") in the 3rd Heaven and both consider it a realm or dimension of the afterlife, not as a way of being in this life. Indeed, Paul teaches that the Christian faith is a tragic waste of time without the hope of a wonderful afterlife (1 Corinthians 15:17-19).
Click to expand...

Isn't that kind 've out there and thus beyond what simplicity common folk were conditioned to? Conditioning to protocol is important to the stoics who refuse to step into strange domains ... in the alter times it gets ultimately sophisticated ... as we enter the phase of even greater mind sets!
 
Mystic said:
The Johannine hymn identifies Christ as "the Logos," which, used philosophically, means "the rational Self-expression of God" as opposed to God in His unknowability. Understood thus, "I am the Way" can mean "I am the divinely sanctioned rational way of Being. This understanding opens up the possibility
that non-Christian gods or substitutes for the Ultimate might embody this way of being in various degrees of adequacy.
The claim "No one comes to the Father but by Me" does not claim no one comes to the Higher Power or Ultimate but by Me. Rather, it claims that no one experiences and establishes an intimate connection with God as "Abba Father," but by me. Muslims reject the personalized concept of God as a Father.
Paul teaches that pagans can potentially be saved through adequate piety apart from formal profession of faith in Christ, that is, through their imperfect equivalence of relating to their grasp of the divine.
Click to expand...

The word is a way that has in transliteration a specter of understandings because of the scatterings of essence ... the spirit of sentience?

In some stories it is an Eyre like Jane/John out inspecting the mores to see if there is anything to learn there ... if so one should stand and take watch ... or take time to rest on that sentient! Id'll come to you as ultimate virtue ... patience ... we are all still learning given what we believed we knew in err ... Ire?

There's more? (the ultimate question; said to b e asked only by mystics as all other suffer anti pathy!) Antipathy is a world of difference from empathy that might indicate "M" for a medium ... you know how folk have been loored into not knowing by advanced partisans ... loored NUs, or if it is the trump card ... NO's! The nothings ultimately secede in rapid secession ... without success in the end! The end being ultimate and cannot be observed by those subjected to only the presence! No object to ide ... ide being a special case! Power to initiate ... there it all starts again due to the love-hate connection regarding emotional-intelligence series ...

An off the pedestal item of worry, concern or care like Ani! Busts fall ...
 
Watch for the second reading and the second question sometime tomorrow! If you wish to pre-read, I'm going to use the Inclusive Bible as the translation for the second question.
 
BetteTheRed said:
Watch for the second reading and the second question sometime tomorrow! If you wish to pre-read, I'm going to use the Inclusive Bible as the translation for the second question.
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Sounds good. I will watch for it.

I am a bit confused though about how this is a lectio divina process. Doesn't the process involve silent prayer and meditation?
 
I assume that the participants are praying and meditating on each of the passages as I present them and the question.

In this virtual environment, I assume the lack of input as an invitation to the second reading. In real life, I would interpret a long silence as the same input,
 
In our particular lectio divina process, we proceed as follow:

1st reading, leading question, time for meditation and prayer before response. Second and third, different translations, different questions.
 
THE WRONG APPROACH TO PETITIONARY PRAYER:
"You don't have because you don't ask; you ask and don't receive because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your pleasures James 4:2)."
"The doubter, being double-minded and unstable in every way, must not expect to receive anything from the Lord (James 1:8)."

THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TO PETITIONARY PRAYER:
"Jesus said to him, "If you are able! --All things can be done for the one who believes."At once the father of the child cried out, "Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief (Mark 9:34-35)!" Paraphrase: "Lord, I'm coming from a space of expectation. Help my faith where it is beginning to fail."

WHAT TO EXPECT:
"For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened... If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts to you children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give GOOD THINGS to those who ask Him (Matthew 7:7, 11)!"
Good things, not necessarily what you asked for. God responds to the need behind the request.

This point is stressed in Paul's complaint about his "thorn" (probably his acknowledged vision problems and chronic malaria).
"A thorn was in the flesh was given to me, a messenger from Satan to bullet me, to keep me frp, being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you; for power is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 12:6, 8)."
Paul's elation over his revelations and miracles needs to dampened down by a thorn to prevent his ego from depriving him of spiritual strength.
 
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