So why does the definition of holy matter? There are fundamentally two answers to that question. The first is the life-relevant answer. The second is the teaching-relevant answer. I have generally spent more time on the second than on the first in this blog. I have a second blog that answers more the first question, but it depends a great deal on answering the teaching-relevant question that this blog focuses on the majority of the time. Today, I want to expand more on both answers to the why questions you might have.
By the way, before I get too far, I want to say that holy can be defined according to the level of adherents for each view, either as: (1) set apart, (2) pure, or (3) whole/wholly. I'll say more on this as I progress, but I know some readers are visiting this blog just for the fast answer and they will not read any further. For those who are reading further, here is what I am up to in my blog and in my paper for my post-graduate work.
My plan is as follows:
I will define holy (Leviticus 19:1-2) as either: 1) set apart, 2) pure, or 3)whole/wholly depending on the evidence that I collect from Scripture in its original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek ....
... using both biblical exegesis and linguistic synthesis & analysis as my tools, including:
1) 5 T's - Translate, Transfer, Total, Train, and Teach - Nehemiah 8 (issue: Whole)
2) clarity and meaning combined (issue: Amount)
3) contextual structural analysis diagrams to identify precise parallels (issue: Relationship)
4) pre-state and post-state diagrams as well as syntactical tools to clarify actions (issue Action)
5) the combination of lexicons based on both classical grammar and scientific linguistics to insure
the best results (issue: Things) ...
... Because:
1) the definition of holy is a potential solution to corporate and individual struggles in the church
and even worldwide, based on its implications
2) other potential solutions that have been tried in recent decades and years have fallen short of
solutions during past periods of church reformation and revival
3) there is a measure of uncertainty or lack of clarity for what holy is by definition, and there is
a likely way to reduce the uncertainty that has been acknowledged by big name scholars (Otto,
Snaith, Kline, etc.)
4) there is a moral obligation to pass on the gifts given to me by my teachers (and I believe the
Holy Spirit) to the wider world
5) the effort to define holy fits with the tools that I received for exegesis and for linguistic
synthesis, so it means that I can contribute something to the discussion because otherwise I should
do nothing, so I don't waste the time of others.
So the first 5 focus on what is the "How?" for what I am doing. The second 5 get at the nitty-gritty part of "Why?" am I doing all this. For me life matters more than teaching, but also teaching is sometimes the means to life change. May God richly bless you this day and may He guide my efforts at teaching, so they have worth and value to others and to myself. Thank you for taking some time to read to the end of my writing today.
In Christ,
Jon
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4 comments:
I was investigating an Eastern Buddhist regimen for healing and the words Holy Master was in the title of the person explaining the healing process. It is a Buddhist group and to my knowledge they are not believers in a Creation God, they live using a philosophy, and do not worship any Gods. I wanted to find out if Holy is strictly just for Christianity. Any help here?
Eleanor
This is a great question. It would require a good deal of research to say anything with great certainty and I unfortunately need to stay on course with my research, so don't have time to give you a thorough answer. But I have learned a few things related to this question along the way. Let me mention two things. First, there are in other modern languages concepts like the English word for holy. I did research this in a Native American context at one point and also in the recently understood Mayan language context. So I don't think the concept is strictly for Christianity. Second, for the biblical period of Ancient Israel (pre-Christian), cognate words (related to the Hebrew for holy) can be found outside the biblical text in languages like Akkadian, etc. So the idea exists in other languages (and so likely other cultures) in ancient times as well. I hope that at least answers your question in part. Thank you for your question.
Sincerely,
Jon
I must apologize and include a comment that I thought was a duplicate, but is instead a different question. That comment originally said: "Anonymous has left a new comment:
http://www.jewishmag.com/39mag/holy/holy.htm
I would love to hear your assessment of the perspective on holiness presented at the above linked site."
I sincerely hope this way of re-attaching the comment will be noted by the original writer. I will give further comments following.
I went to the site mentioned above and the definition of holy suggested there is apparently tied to God's unboundedness or infinity. The argument is that God has unboundedness like a prostitute has unboundedness. First, the only argument proposed comes from a rare connection to a harlot or prostitute as found in a similarly spelled Hebrew word. These types of arguments that are based on so little data are highly speculative, even if they turn out later to be correct. This kind of argument is why I have run across 20+ definitions of holy, but I consider only 3 to have shown merit for being taken very seriously. I'm sorry to say that their argument is unconvincing from the little evidence they have produced. I thank you very much for bringing up this question. It is a very good one.
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