Holy: Understanding It Better Through Gen. 1:1-2:4a (Total)

PREFACE

The definition of holy has certainly seen its share of conflict and controversy in the last 100 plus years.  But also it has high level of importance in the Bible and in terms of personal interest and its potential connection to a very timely topic - healthy.  The personal interest is seen in its close connection with a person's name, as for an example, God's name of Yahweh.  "Holy be your name" is part of the opening in the Lord's Prayer.  The topic of being whole or being healthy is currently one of major importance.  With the possible definition of "moral wholeness", it could tie directly into healthy as one of the hot topics of the 21st century.   So the overall or total approach to determining a word's meaning is looking at all four areas of interest or concern: 1) translate to an equal, 2) transfer from and to a location and time, 3) total to avoid need gaps, 4) train in the skills for application, and 5) teach what is what. 

So far in my entries this week, I have dealt with translation and transfer.  Today, I will be spending some time beefing up 1) translate and 2) transfer.  I will also use today to look ahead to 3) training and 4) teaching elements.  This is what I call the total.  It keeps me from leaving gaps in my attempt to persuade others of the meanings for Yahweh, blessed, and holy. 

In the Western world, we usually associate the total of something with the opening and closing of what we say, but I want to take a more Eastern approach and place it primarily in the middle.  This approach I learned from Mary Douglas, a rather famous anthropologist, who has written on the different structural pattern found in Hebrew writings in the Bible.  This does not mean that I will not also have the total of all the parts in the opening and closing, as is usually found in the West.  Rather it means I will keep my eye on the whole of the process also in the middle of my writing like the Hebrews. 

I value the total so much, because without it things are not complete or total and can therefore easily fail.  One writer in speaking of the persuasion cascade pointed out that his method would not work, if it was not completed through the whole of the steps.  He understood that there would then be gaps in the persuasion process which then could lead to persuasion failure.  I think this also applies to defining words and trying to make a good case for a particular view. 

The greatest example of the opposite of what I am saying is the view that the context is THE key to understanding the meaning of a word.  Now that the etymology of holy in the Hebrew, the Aramaic, and the Greek is seen as a matter of conflict and controversy; context is now being promoted as THE way to resolve its meaning.  I find that very unsatisfactory.  It is only one part of at least four perspectives in the total reading and understanding process of reading the Scripture. 

That is critical to understanding my approach.  Context alone for defining a word will not work in my view.  It requires a much more comprehensive approach.  Then from that larger perspective, a person can see the convergence of perspectives hopefully all pointing to the same thing. 

My goal through this blog is to give people another choice in the area of meaning that they have not previously been aware of as people, who desire to know the meaning of key words in their Bible.  I am trying to shed light on the topics of God's name, blessing, and holy that have been hidden in the darkness.   Beginning with a choice is critical in reaching the ultimate goal of celebration.

The 5 step persuasion process is like this for the one trying to persuade others:

1) choice by helping people see,
2) chance by enabling people to do,
3) connect by a willing opportunity,
4) change by filling empty hands to satisfaction, and
5) celebrate by people enjoying the experience of not having gaps in fulfilling their needs.

My goal through these 5 steps is to get people to seeing, able, willing, and ready.  It takes all of that to reach full blown personal eagerness. 

Here's another way to express in words what is desirable for those seeking answers to questions:

1) A choice that you see,
2) A chance for you to be able,
3) A connection that you willingly embrace,
4) A change that fills you up to ready, and
5) A celebration that is all that you need rather even one need short. 

Here's Jesus' purpose and goals for similar kinds of things (in Luke 4:18):

1) to restore sight to the blind, who are  those not seeing,
2) to free the oppressed, who are those unable,
3) to liberate the captives, who are those unwilling,
4) to tell the gospel to the poor, who are those unready, and
5) to fulfill the whole of the purposes or goals (ex. Jesus' bucket list or ministry goals), and not even one less than this to those suffering, who are those not eager due to a purpose gap. 

If you are not eager, then you are suffering.  If every one of the criteria is met: seeing, able, willing, and ready, then suffering is relieved.  The point is that you only have to be missing one of those things to suffer and not be eager. 

If you are not eager,

then you are suffering. 

So why are you not eager for work?  Have you ever thought about it lacking one or more of these goals or purposes?  Why are you not eager to go to church?  Could it be that this organization that is supposed to be built around Jesus' goals has lost its bearings? 

If you fulfill all these things on Jesus' bucket list of goals, then you will eliminate or at least alleviate suffering.  So you might ask this: "So how do I become eager?"  It is through finishing the goal list that Jesus laid out. 

If we changed all things to the direction of Jesus' goals, then I believe people will be so eager they will be breaking down the doors to churches.  We can then return to standing room only and people waiting outside to get in. 

Here's how you can become eager (based on the rewards for not just you but others equally):


So now, let's lay out the choices :

20th ct. choice - the definition of holy is set apart, and it has less to do with purity or with wholeness compared to what was previously thought. 

21st ct. choice - the definition of holy is moral wholeness, the implication is purity, and the significance is that this is what sets us apart (the definition and the implication altogether).

Let's lay out the chances:

20th ct. chance - not much of a chance, but the only real chance we have to draw people back to the church is through being contemporary in terms of music and technology. 

21st ct. chance - the practical aspect of making things morally whole or physically whole means that we can do things that were impossible previously

Let's lay out the connections:

20th ct. connect - the various denominational and non-denominational teams on the landscape will continue to be tied to the same leaders of the past in Protestantism and there will be little future hope of reconnecting in a tightly formed team

21st ct. connect - there will now be a real chance to join together in a way that is tightly bound to one another rather than in a loose alliance

Let's lay out the changes:

20th ct. change - the continued changes in technology will drive us to the greatest changes we are capable of making

21st ct change - the change will happen on a personal level with human beings and their moral character resting on a new quality standard and accomplishment. 

Let's lay out the celebration:

20th ct celebration - the best of that optimism happened in the 1950s and is unlikely to be revived to a higher pitch going forward

21st ct. celebration - the biblical stories of "it felt like we were dreaming" will be the same kind of reason we are celebrating. 


So as I go forward the next couple of days I hope I can demonstrate the value of training and teaching in terms of new capabilities and possibilities and also new sight and a reduction in blindness.  May God bless the remainder of your day and please visit all 5 blog entries this week to grasp the whole picture. 


In Christ,

Jon

Holy: Understanding it Better Through Understanding Uncertainty

The fiscal cliff that we are told will arrive at the beginning of this next year is causing a lot of jitters and volatility in the markets.  But even now it is wrecking havoc due to the uncertainty of whether it will happen or not.  The main concern of the financial experts is that what is weighing on things now is the uncertainty that exists until this issue is addressed.  People are waiting until all the uncertainty is out of the market.  So it is not just the fiscal cliff that is harmful, it is also the uncertainty associated with it.  This is also true for the uncertainty about the meaning of holy.  It can be paralyzing.  It can make things volatile.  It can cause people to wait and to wait and to wait, when action is needed.  So why not address it? 

I have tried to address the issue of uncertainty on the topic of what holy means, yet still the issue is pushed off to the future based on the scholarly activity that is not happening to address the uncertainty.  Some Christians are unwilling to commit to any course until the uncertainty is removed.  It is not just financial markets that function this way.  It is also influencing the spiritual atmosphere as well. 

There is a time for concealing and there is a time for revealing.  I have chosen to see our time as a time for revealing and removing the uncertainty that exists about the meaning of holy rather than concealing it. 

Many books cover the topic of holy and conceal the uncertainty by default.  But in many ways this is like pushing the fiscal cliff further out there.  Spiritually, Christianity is being faced with its own dire spiritual cliff.  The uncertainty can't be concealed once it is let out the hat and yet some scholarship by default conceals the uncertainty of the meaning of holy by trying to push back into the pandora's box after it has been opened. 

People are waiting for the uncertainty involved in the meaning of holy to be addressed and removed.  They can see the attempts to push it back into the box as a failure.  The point is they are waiting for a solution.  So they are not committing, not acting and not choosing.  That is harmful.  We cannot ask people to wait forever.  When will scholars get together instead of forcing onto others an endless waiting game where uncertainty itself is dangerous?   

We cannot afford to endlessly wait anymore than an economic system can keep pushing back a fiscal cliff.  At some point that is sooner rather than later, a solution must be drawn up that eliminates at least a good measure of uncertainty and volatility among those who hold to differing views.  Can we afford to not know the meaning with certainty for the second most important word in the entire biblical text? 

I don't think we can do this endlessly and yet how different is our situation from that of the economy in relation to an uncertain fiscal cliff?  Can we say that 7%, 25%, 55%, etc. certainty is good enough?  Would it not be better to remove the uncertainty, when it can be done in fairly quick order?  That is what I wish I could do and yet so often I see the uncertainty of the situation lead to delays rather than fast action.  Endless, endless, endless delays without and end in sight.    

When will the uncertainty end?   When will we have exhausted the many days of that are given to us?  I don't know, but I think it best to think of today as the day to at least commit to end the uncertainty and not tomorrow.  Tomorrow might be too late and waiting and waiting and waiting is not the thing to do, when tomorrow may be just that.  It is not wise in the area of economics.  Is it any wiser in the area of spiritual salvation? 

Do you enjoy the idea of maybe falling off a cliff?  I don't.  I'm out to avoid it.  I want not only to know what holy means, but to also end the effects of the weight of uncertainty.  I want to end  it as soon as possible.  Let's join together and get it done.  Thank you for taking the time to read this entry on my blog. 


Sincerely,

Jon

Holy: Understanding It Better Through the Sinking of the Titanic

     Can you believe it?  He thinks there is a comparison between the definition of holy and
     the sinking of the Titanic!   Where does he get that idea?

I can hear some of my readers saying that in their heads, as they read this post's title.  But I do.  I really do.  There is no denying it.  There is a possibility that the comparision could prove helpful.  The comparison is this.  It comes from the infamous line that the "Titanic is unsinkable".   Today, we know that it was not unsinkable.  Before hand, however, it did not seem so obviously ludicous as it does today.  I can tell that when I suggest that "set apart" might not be the meaning of holy, some scholars think that the definition is "unsinkable".  It is impossible that this definition for the biblical term for holy will not continue to float!  This is where caution I think is the better virtue. 

The boast that "set apart" is the definition of holy in the biblical text is unsinkable is too great.  It is premature.  It is lacking in objectivity.  I have read, read, read, read and read again scholarly articles on the topic of holy.  In my reading, I have run across "etymological studies" or "word studies" for its meaning, but not a full linguistic analysis.  Sometimes quite close, but still a little short of a full analysis.   But because of this lack, I think a full linguistic analysis is required of all those who want to have reasonable certainty that their definition can stay afloat and not sink. 

Both scholars Rudolph Otto and Norman Snaith hint that there is a level of uncertainty with regard to the etymology of the biblical Hebrew word for holy that must be acknowledged.  Later, you see other scholars, like Klein in his lexical work, acknowledging that the etymological method is not certain.  Yet it still remains quite forceful in that it usually means one option for the definition of holy is the only one taken seriously after the method is applied.  In other words, more than one view is considered prior to an etymological study, but not two or more afterward.  That means that despite any cautions about this method expressed by scholars, they simply haven't considered both equally both before and after the use of the etymological method.  This goes for some people that I admire. 

So what are we to do?  Well, how about floating the ship of "set apart" with due caution?  Let's not be like the boastful captain of the ship, before the voyage was over.  Let's take the voyage and see instead whether it is true that a definition is unsinkable.  Let's watch out for icebergs along the way toward using linguistic analysis which includes etymology, but goes beyond as well.  (By the way, that is my view.  Some are so critical of etymology that their view is that it is nearly totally unreliable.)

I want to float the definition of holy (qaodosh in Hebrew, hagios in Greek) as "set apart" careully with two other ships along side that one.  The other two ships are: "pure" and "whole".  I want to have two other options in case the first one fails.  I don't want to venture out so far on the etymological method, that does sometimes fail, that I have no other options in the case of it sinking in the North Atlantic.  I am not afraid of risk, but I think there is a difference though between it and recklessness. 

Why not do as the ancient Jewish scribes did in preserving the Hebrew text before Xerox?  Why not  keep the other still possible options in the margin alongside the primary option that is placed in the body of the textual copy?  Sometimes, textual margin readings end up being the right ones when more evidence comes to light.  With other boats nearby, chances are reasonable that the passengers on-board the Titanic could have survived in at least greater numbers than they did otherwise in the frigid waters, as they watched the unsinkable sink. 

So I say "beware".  Watch out for pride!  It can deceive us way too easily.  Even among otherwise humble scholars, this is possible.   That kind of over-confidence can become your scholarly and spiritual undoing.   It can lead to a lot of regret.  That is why the Titanic is still remembered.   It is remembered in infamy, because of the boast of one man and the great lost it caused.  There was a lot lost!  Please avoid with me a repeat mistake that involves a lot more passengers.  Take care everyone!

Sincerely,

Jon