Today was cell group with E12 and E25. Got the timings mixed up so arrived early, and hence had time to read my book titled "What Did Jesus Really Mean?" by Rob Rhodes.
Oh yes, Kevin you should be doing your assignments :P
And here's something which I wanted to share with two people.
>Is it true, as feminist writers claim, that Jesus set forth a sexist concept of God by calling God "Father" (Matthew 6:9)
Jesus did teach that we should refer to God as our "Father." For example, we are instructed by Him to pray, "Our Father in heaven..." (Matthew 6:9). However, this does not mean Jesus set forth a sexist concept of God.
To begin, it is highly revealing that while God is referred to int he Bible as "Father" (and never "Mother"), some of His actions are occasionally described in feminine terms. For example, Jesus likened God to a loving and saddened mother hen crying over the waywardness of her children (Matthew 23:37-39). God is also said to have "given birth" to Israel (Deuteronomy 32:18).
Of course, God is not a gender being as humans are. He is not of the male sex per se. The primary emphasis in God being called "Father" is that He is personal.Unlike the dead and impersonal idols of paganism, the true God is a personal being with whom we can relate. In fact, we can even call Him "Abba" (an Aramaic term that loosely means "daddy"). That is how intimate a relationship we can have with Him.
Regarding the issue of gender equality, it is undeniable that Jesus had a very high view of women. In a Jewish culture, where women were discouraged from studying the Law, Jesus taught women right alongside men as equals (Matthew 14:21; 15:38). And when He taught, He often used women's activities to illustrate the character of the kingdom of God, such as baking bread (Luke 13:20-21), grinding corn (Luke 17:35), and sweeping the house to find a lost coin (Luke 15:8-10).
Some Jewish rabbis taught that a man should not speak to a woman in a public place, but Jesus not only spoke to a woman (who, incidentally, was a Samaritan) but also drank from her cup in a public place (John 4:1-30). The first person He appeared to after resurrecting from the dead was Mary and not the male disciples (Luke 24:1-8). Clearly Jesus had a very high view of women.
Galatians 3:28 tells us that there is neither male nor female in Jesus Christ. First Peter 3:7 says men and women are fellow heirs of grace. Ephesians 5:21 speaks of mutual submission between man and wife. In John 7:53-8:11 Jesus would not permit the double standard of the woman being taken in adultery and letting the man go free. In Luke 10:38-39, Jesus let a woman sit at His feet, which was a place reserved for the male disciples. Verses such as these show that in God's eyes men and women are spiritually equal. Any claims of sexism in Jesus or Christianity are absolutely groundless.
Yup, I admit I was wrong in some parts of my explanation then. Hope I get the chance to make it right. Being a teacher should be more stressful for me.
Anyway, some thoughts on today. On the way back from cell, I realised that my mindset has indeed expanded, and I am a person who is more graceful and flexible than I used to be. Roland has a big part to play in this apart from Jesus through whom anything of eternal benefit can only come from :) Still a lot of work to be done, but at least I have grown a little bit.
As for myself, I know from One Thing, the One Thing I Lack is the most important point for me this year, and if it's not done this year, it's going to have be done next year, so why not this year right? Simple? Yay!
Okie, off for now :)