book response: Prototype by Jonathan Martin (2013)

Pastor Martin is strong in being weak. This is good. His honesty in his weakness and God's goodness towards him, nevertheless, makes him an engaging author of Prototype: What Happens When You Discover You're More Like Jesus Than You Think? He tells story of a Jesus who is awesome and who does awesome things through the people around him. He elevates everyone else in this book and not himself. He keeps pointing to

others as examples of Jesus at work and points to himself only to show the wonder-working power of his savior. His perspective, and style, are seen in this quote,

I feel like the guy from the old Hair Club for Men commercials: "I'm not just the president... I'm also a client." I'm not just the pastor, I'm a body under renovation. Because if God is saving anybody at Renovatus, He's saving me, and I have plenty to be saved from and even more to saved to. p. 186

The more honest he is about his oddities, the more normal he comes across. My favorite chapter is titled Obscurity. Christian books on being "radical" or "extreme" or "sold-out" are sold in spades. But most of us, have jobs and families and mortgages and are not called to "drop our nets" like Peter and John. We are called to keep living our lives and occupy until Jesus returns. Martin affirms this, and what a relief that is.

Obscurity is where God sends all of His favorite sons and daughters. Our society tells us that if and when we get "there" - the job or position or degree we've always wanted, the notoriety we've always dreamed of - that's when all the important stuff will start happening. Not so.
All the good stuff happen in obscurity. p.65

Thank you for not making me feel guilty for my non-radical-for-Jesus life. This quote gets to the thesis of the book, Jesus loves us. However, he tells that to us in more compelling ways.

I believe David's years of obscurity enabled him to receive a revelation of his belovedness in a way that Saul never could, amid the legion of voices from which he drew his own fractures sense of identity. Through all the worst moments of David's life, it was his intrinsic grasp of God's love that ultimately set him apart. It turns out that knowing how loved we are by God makes all the difference in the kind of people we will become. p.31

Of course there is more to the book, but I keep returning to this point. I'm one of those people, like Martin, who grew up in the church and keeps forgetting this. I keep complicating what is simple, and I'm glad for the refresher from Pastor Martin.

I received this book as a complimentary review copy from Tyndale House Publishers. The book's website has PDF's of a Q & A with the author and the first chapter.

Tony Jones plans to follow through with his civil marriage

Two years ago, I wrote a post, which generated more hits than I normally see on my little ol' blog, criticizing Dr. Tony Jones's decision to have a sacramental but not civil marriage in order to demonstrate his allegiance to the gay community in Minnesota. His Twitter statement read, "But we are not getting legally married until you can. We are getting sacramentally married." In hindsight, as my views have evolved on gay marriage as a civil right, I really appreciate his sentiment. I still do not think it was the right call as a church leader or seminary professor. Even a national columnist thought it was a poor choice.

But today, Minnesota legalized gay marriage, and Dr. Jones has announced his plans to civilly marry his sacramental wife this summer. I'm happy for them.

the angry, bloody God of the Bible? part 5

This series started from a lectionary reading last week, Psalm 68. I can't track with David ascribing to God this invitation,

Psalm 68:21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

But then stories come out, such as today's, of women escaping sexual slavery. And I have to admit, there is a part of me that wants to wade in these brothers' blood. What they did was so wrong, I have a hard time processing it rationally, and want to react to it viscerally. This is why our society has a legal process and tries to stop lynch mobs. Those guys hurt three women, yet it disrupts the baseline of trust in our society, and hurts all of us.

Did you see what happened there? My brain and my heart had a dialog and my soul is trying to synthesize those viewpoints. Freud would say my Id and Superego were at odds and my Ego has to straighten it all out.  Gene Roddenberry would have had Dr. Spock and Dr. McCoy argue in front of Captain Kirk. J. K .Rowling would have had Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley bicker in front of Harry Potter.

In the Bible, David is an "all-heart" kind of guy. He is passion embodied. He passionately loves God. He passionately loves women. He passionately loves his best buddy Jonathan. He passionately loves another guy's wife. He passionately loves his kids even when they are raping each other, killing each other, and trying to kill him. David gets God's passion.

In Genesis, in the lead up to the story of Noah's flood, God is said to "repent" of his decision to create humanity because of it's wickedness and violence.

Gensis 6:5 The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. 6 So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. 7 And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.”

But after the flood he also promised Noah never to do that again.

Genesis 8:21 And the Lord was pleased with the aroma of the sacrifice and said to himself, “I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood. I will never again destroy all living things.

I'm typically a cerebral guy, all brain, no heart, and I have a hard time understanding passionate people, much less a passionate God.

But news stories like today's awaken the passionate, irrational beast that lurks in my chest. Somedays, like today, I totally get Psalm 68.

the angry, bloody God of the Bible? part 4

You might think I'm the brilliant kind of writer who knows the end from the beginning when composing pieces. If you thought so, you are mistaken, and that's why I'm only a blogger with a day job. This weekend, I think I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. But this post is still in the dark tunnel. I chose not to finish surveying the synoptics, because I did not expect much from the effort.

The same style of violent language shows up again in John the Beloved's Revelation. It's a little different in that the heavenly armies are doing the butchering. In the Apocalypse, nothing is clear and simple, so much of it is symbolic. This is from the end of chapter 14.

Rev. 14:17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth’s vine, because its grapes are ripe.” 19 The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20 They were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed out of the press, rising as high as the horses’ bridles for a distance of 1,600 stadia.

Uggh. That's more blood than I can imagine. I'm assuming that the blood is human, and represents the deadly effect of God's judgment on humanity, consistent with the other judgments in the chapter. Much of the latter half of the book consists of graphic, hyperbolic and symbolic depictions of God's judgment on humanity, not unlike the 10 plagues Moses brought on the Egyptians. But more of them. In Moses' story, he turned the Nile and every container of water in Egypt into blood. When I re-read Exodus during Lent, I noted internal inconsistencies with the plagues that indicate them to also be symbolic and hyperbolic rather than literal.

Back to John's vision. At the end, Jesus defeats his physical and spiritual enemies. It's quite rousing, if you are into even more blood and gore. It starts off with an adoring picture of Jesus, the conquering hero. His bloody robe could be colored with his own blood, but it gets mixed by the end of the battle with that of his opponents. Again, the winepress metaphor is used, which is pretty graphic when you think about it. People used to pour their harvest of grapes in big stone basins and stomp on the grapes with their bare feet to separate the juice from the skin and flesh. Then the birds are invited to the anticipated slaughter of his opponents, and they do. It's not very different from Psalm 68:23, which originally bothered me this morning.

Revelation 19
11 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. 12 His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him that no one knows but he himself. 13 He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. 14 The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: king of kings and lord of lords.
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, 18 so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.” 19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. 20 But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh.

What are my options with this passage? I think they are the same as Psalm 68.

1. David John was wrong to attribute this to God.
2. This is symbolic language, not to be understood literally.

In this case, we know with a great degree of certainty the language is symbolic. Not even my fundamentalist friends are on the watch for dragons to appear, signaling the end times. They also do not think Jesus has a sword in his mouth instead of a tongue.

But even if this is symbolic and hyperbolic, I still feel uneasy with the violent God/Jesus portrayed by John and David and Joshua. It's not just the gore, but the approval of the treatment of the enemies, after their deaths. Dogs will lap up their blood. Birds will gorge on their bodies. Yayyyyyyy!!!!!......????????

I'm slowly reading, between other books, Killing Enmity: Violence and the New Testament by Thomas R. Yoder Neufeld on my Kindle. He offers some ideas on processing these images. But I'm only halfway through, and I can't apply anything yet. I'm open to any suggestions from my readers on who to read and learn from in regards to my issues with these passages and their tone.

I think John the Beloved might be the way out of this tunnel. He was the last living apostle and he had one message, as summarized by this Russian Orthodox priest.

During the last years of his life the Apostle preached only one precept: "children, love one another" His disciples asked : "Why do you repeat yourself?" Apostle John answered: "This is the most important commandment. If you will fulfil it, then you wil fulfil all of Christ's commandment."

the angry, bloody God of the Bible? part 3

I didn't have time to research and write today, but I did have time to read. My eyes and ears are "open" to this topic, and I'm seeing how others are struggling like myself with God's violence.

Here are a couple I came across today.

Morgan Guyton is an associate pastor in a United Methodist church. I follow him on Twitter and after clicking through a couple links I ended up on his post about God's anger, God’s wrath as a cosmic spiritual immune system. He's a blogger after my own heart. His blogs are too long and bleed all over the place. They are an absolute mess, and I love it. I also really dig over-extended metaphors. I don't know if I buy all of his ideas in this post, but I identify with his struggle.

Richard Beck is a professor of  psychology at Abilene Christian University. He, too, is a believer who wrestles with God. Yesterday he wrote a post Devoted to Destruction: Reading Cherem Non-Violently. He writes about his jailhouse Bible class reading Joshua.

Cherem (also spelled herem) refers to the wholesale destruction of all living things--men, women, children and animals--that God commands when the Israelites captured a city. The word occurs 21 times in the Old Testament and most of those, eight references, occur in the book of Joshua.

Joshua is a thorn in my side too. Not unlike the conclusion of Douglas Earl's The Josua Delusion, Beck writes "Having recently read the book of Joshua I was struck by the following: Cherem doesn't work. That seems to be one of the take home points of the book."

I appreciate their wrestling. The commenters wrestle over more details as well.

the angry, bloody God of the Bible? part 2

This series, the angry, bloody God of the Bible? begins here.

This post jumps right into the data from Jesus.

Jesus told his disciples that by seeing him, they've seen the Father. He is God. The same God as in the Old Testament. One option not available but born out of similar frustration is that of the early church heretic Marcion. His solution was to reject the Old Testament and most of the New Testament. He was Jesus-only to the extreme. But Jesus, himself, says some extreme things.
In Matthew 10 he states,

34 “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn “‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law— 36 a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37 “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

The fact that conversion brings division in families is nothing new. It doesn't do it in all families. Not everyone who converts risks their lives nowadays. But it is a risk in some cultures today. Jesus' point, with this language is to say he's worth everything we have, family and life.

Jesus also issues violent warning to those who put children at risk. Whether he means spiritual children or literal children is unclear.

Matthew 18:6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

As a parent, I can support this threat of Jesus'. Drowning is a terrible way to go. But Jesus says he has a worse way for these kinds of offenders. It sounds like a threat of deadly torture. Does divine justice have to be this way? I have to go with the data I have. In the same chapter, he explicitly mentions torture for an offense that doesn't seem nearly as bad as hurting children.

Matthew 18:34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Verse 34 is the conclusion of a parable, but verse 35 is the commentary on the parable. It appears God reserves the right to torture those who don't forgive!? In the parable, usually the master figure represents God. In this parable, the master forgave a guy who owed him a lifetime of debt, but then that guy shakes down another guy who owes him chump change. When the master finds out, he gets furious, and rescinds his forgiveness and goes with justice instead. I get the point that forgiveness is extremely important to Jesus. I get that he received torture on my behalf. I get that others (demons in hell) are doing the torturing. The master offered him a chance to live in a new paradigm, but the guy preferred the old paradigm of justice, so he got what he wanted.

The kind of torture, as well as port-mortem desecration, is explained by Jesus before his own trial and crucifixion. I think he is referring to the Jewish leaders who should have recognized him and received him with open arms instead of torturing and killing him.

Matthew 24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The point seems to be he has no tolerance for pretenders/actors/hypocrites. Cutting someone to pieces is really extreme though. It's "Silence of the Lambs" crazy. There was a priest in Judges 19 who cut his dead girlfriend to pieces and mailed them around the country as evidence of how crazy the town was where she was killed. Her story was received with sorrow followed by a collective determination to inflict violent justice on her rapist/murderers, Judges 20.

In the next chapter, Jesus tells another parable involving a master and three of his servants. It doesn't go well for the third one, who was paralyzed with fear of his master, and did not invest the wealth left to him during the master's absence.

Matthew 25:24 “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The servant's assessment of the master turns out to be right. The point seems to be fear is a lousy motivator, which contradicts the warning. Doesn't it? At least the guy isn't tortured. He's only kicked to the curb.

This ends my survey of only one of the four gospels. Mark and Luke have plenty of overlap with Matthew, that's why they are the synoptics, so I should be able to survey those two together in the next post.

I'm only looking at the really negative, bloody, gory stuff, because I'm that kind of guy ;-). However, I'm really into God's love and Jesus' turn the other cheek theology. I'm trying to piece together how this violent teaching fits with the loving teaching. I'm open to any suggestions.

the angry, bloody God of the Bible? part 1

I started writing this today and it turned into one of my dissertation length posts. I'm trying to be a nicer blogger, so I'm breaking it into chunks.


I was listening to today's lectionary reading while riding my bicycle into work and got hung up on this passage.

Psalm 68
19 Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.
20 Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.
21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan; I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes, while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

This Psalm has plenty of nice things and encouraging things in this Psalm, but the last two verses put in God's mouth do not agree with what Jesus taught about loving our enemies. I have two directions to go with this dilemma.

1. David was wrong to attribute this to God.
2. This is symbolic language, not to be understood literally.

I'm open to #1 because #2 has just as many problems in my thinking. This topic touches on my problems with Joshua's genocidal conquest narratives, see a collection of my blogs here. I've been puzzling over this concept of God's violence here on the blog for several years now, soon after I started it. Both options are in play for me in Joshua's case as well. Additionally, another sub-option shows up in Joshua, two or more editors inserting contradictory information. I call it a sub-option because it's related to #1 above, that the human stain colors the entire Bible. David writes violently, with similar imagery earlier in the Jewish hymn book.

Psalm 58 

9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

I'm aware that I live a privileged life. My degree of violation by others is nowhere near what people in David's time and even today have experienced. Yet even on the cross, after the most severe of violations, Jesus does not quote this Psalm. He goes to David's 22nd Psalm, which focuses on his feelings of despair and abandonment, then moves to hope and worship. Finally, Jesus, who mentioned he could call down a heavenly army to deliver him at any time, prayed that God would forgive those who killed him, not strike them down.

If you are a believer, what approach do you take to these passages?

why is "penny wise, pound foolish" such a hackneyed expression?

"Penny wise, pound foolish," was first written in a book in the 1600's by the British author Robert Burton. It's an idiom that means one chooses tiny gains over expensive losses, usually seen over time. For example, I could choose not to put money in my retirement account, so that I can go out to dine more often now, but I will miss out on, not only on dining out at all when I'm too old to work, but also, more likely, affording more important living expenses. A similar idiom, "cutting off your nose to spite your face," is related. It is an even older expression, meaning to overreact to a problem and create long term damage to a short term situation. If my allergies are really bad, although I may wish to cut off my nose, I know that doing so, to ease my immediate discomfort, would make my life even more miserable.

It seems to me, that many of my fellow citizens, are not aware of the wisdom in these idioms.

I know I am long-winded so I'm trying to keep this short.

Some citizens do not think that social programs benefit them directly, and only help lazy people who are gaming the system. So those politicians who advocate for these programs are accused of communism, socialism, collectivism and other words, whose definitions are not even understood by those who speak them. But those social programs will actually save them money over the decades. Those programs might even be of use in their own lives if circumstances beyond their control should arise. Here is a recent article about how the very expensive prison system has replaced the much more efficient mental health system.

It's difficult for politicians to advocate for economic positions that will not benefit their constituents before the next election cycle. It's even harder if the position assists the poor. I understand why politicians often resort to exaggeration, of not outright lying, to assuage a penny wise voting bloc.

It seems to me, that the voting bloc, in general, which tend to vote in the best interests of others, are often linked with godlessness. Yet their actions look more like the wisdom of the greatest religious teacher in history, who said, the 2nd greatest command of God is to love our neighbors like we love ourselves. That teacher claims that the way we treat the neediest in our society is the way we treat God himself. One of his original followers wrote, I'll show you my beliefs by what I do, even devils believe in God.

In answer to the question in the title of this post, it's an overused expression because we humans in general, have such a hard time thinking past today, so we keep choosing short term gains and long term losses. We are fools.

book response: God's Gay Agenda by Turnbull (2012)

Even if you are Christian who is not even open to considering the full inclusion of homosexuals into the life of your church, you can still learn something from Pastor Sandra Turnbull's book, God's Gay Agenda. Why can you learn something from this book? The author is informed. She loves the Bible. She loves Jesus. She sees the fields as "white unto the harvest."

Turnbull pastors Glory Tabernacle Christian Center in Long Beach, CA, and holds a Biblical Studies degree from Evangel University and a Master of Arts from the Claremont School of Theology. See more about her at her bio page. She grew up on the missionary field. She tells some of her own story in the beginning of the book. When she joined Youth With a Mission as a young adult, she developed a relationship with another woman on her team. YWAM sent them home. She submitted herself to Christian ungay-me ministry, which didn't work. Eventually, years later, she reconnected with that woman and they are now married. But the lesbian part of her did not change her devotion to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible, the church, or the great commission. She is still pentecostal. So is her church.

Whether the reader considers her "in sin" or not, it's still worth listening to her wrestle with the clobber passages, those seven key passages that condemn homosexuality. Before she gets to those passages, she shows, very conclusively that natural born eunuchs, in Jesus' words, refer to homosexuals. In the Old Testament, they appear as temple and royal officials. One even rescues Jeremiah. In the New Testament, one brings the gospel to Ethiopia. I can agree with Turnbull that gay people are seen in the Bible as good agents of God's purpose.

Her exegetical efforts in reinterpreting the clobber passages are the best that I have encountered, but I'm not that widely read. In regards to the Leviticus passages, she ties "abomination" to idolatry. There is too much unsaid, too many other passages using the word that are not assessed, for me to agree with her that the Levitical passages are specifically limited to idol worship practices exclusively. In particular, male priests received anal intercourse from worshippers. I also think her analysis of Paul's condemnation of homosexuality in Romans 1 was weak. Paul is writing about the effects of idolatry, and he includes male/male homosexuality as one aspect, which would lend itself to temple worship practices, but she can't say woman/woman homosexuality that Paul talks about is also a temple practice.

Simply because I am not persuaded on all counts of her argument, does not mean there isn't much to learn from someone using different lenses than mine to read the scripture. In her discussion of Sodom and Gomorrah, and how it's not a story about homosexuality, but of rape and violence, she notices something in Jesus' discussion that I never saw before.

Here is the biblical account found in Luke 17:28-30 and 34-36: Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. …I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field, the one shall be taken, and the other left. (KJV) Jesus mentions two men in one bed together quite purposefully.158 To an audience where some would be equating God’s judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah with homosexual sex acts, this statement contradicted that myth. Jesus set the record straight by equating eternal life as contingent upon the condition of the individual’s heart. To Jesus, if you were his disciple, it meant that you were living a life of obedience to God. In Jesus’ illustration, one man is clearly a disciple regardless of the fact that he is sleeping in the same bed with another man. What Jesus was communicating is that eternal life is not based upon sexuality, but upon having your heart prepared and ready. Kindle Highlight Loc. 1281-90

Her comment on the footnote is important.

158 Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction And Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Illinois and England: Intervarsity Press, 1974 and 1988), 286. Bible translators deal with Luke 17:34 in various ways because the word “men” is not included in the original Greek text. The Tyndale New Testament Commentary by Leon Morris states that the original Greek text does use the masculine gender in both “one” and “the other.” The traditional reading of Greek would mean that the phrase should be read “two men in one bed” as the King James Version of the Bible translates it. It is interesting that other translators remove the word “men” or just omit the verse completely. Leon Morris concludes that it could mean man and wife however. The Interpreter’s Bible Commentary for the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of John, Volume VIII, (1952) states on page 304 that “Two in vs. 34 probably means two men, as alternative illustration to two (women) in vs. 35; but the earlier two could mean man and wife.” I don’t think there would be any question as to how to interpret this verse if the subject was not about two men in bed together. 

I never saw that before. I found her observations on what Jesus did not say about eunuchs, although an argument from silence, wroth considering as well.

Isn’t it interesting that Jesus never spoke about eunuchs in terms of healing, reprogramming, or restoration? In Matthew 19:12 there is no suggestion that a eunuch needs to be fixed, healed, or restored back into society. Remember that Jesus was all too happy to heal the blind, the sick, the oppressed, and to even raise some who were “sleeping” back to the living. But nowhere do we find Jesus healing the eunuch. Rather, to be a eunuch is held up as a model. It is a good thing to be a eunuch. The eunuch, in the context of Jesus’ teaching on marriage and divorce, is certainly outside of the heterosexual structure of society. Yet according to Jesus, the eunuch life is a model life and a prestigious calling. Kindle Highlight Loc. 1905-10

She contends that the third kind of eunuchs that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 19:12 are the church's gay believers. It's a weak contention in my opinion because Jesus speaks of those who make themselves eunuchs. Some translations interpret this as dedicating themselves to celibacy. The second option makes more sense to me. Nevertheless, I do appreciate her observation that Jesus did not heal any homosexuals of their sexual preferences. However, he did heal a centurion's slave, who might have been his male sex slave too. Gay Christians, including Turnbull, point to this as an example of Jesus' not taking an opportunity to condemn homosexuality. I see it as an opportunity missed of not condemning slavery.

As far as the hot topic of gay marriage, Turnbull makes a good point.

It is apparent from the Scriptures that God seems to have stamped His approval upon a variety of types of marriages which were considered “traditional” in biblical history. Besides the polygamous marriages, there existed under God’s blessing the levirate marriages, mixed marriages, slave marriages, and prisoner-of-war marriages. All of these “traditional” marriages would be shunned today in the Church and in most Western societies. Kindle Highlight Loc. 2444-47

This is not a new argument from the gay Christian, but she puts it in very stark terms. "Traditional" and "Biblical" are not helpful terms in these discussions. I'm for civil unions for any couple, regardless of gender. Turnbull's book has many helpful contributions to the church's discussion of homosexuality. She speaks as one who grew up as an insider, but has become an outsider, who wants to bring us back to unity. She models grace, devotion, modesty, and love. Whether we agree with her or not, her contribution to the conversation is valuable.

I received this e-book as a free review copy.

adventures in poor gun rights advocacy

One of my facebook friends posted this to his wall, a forward from a gun rights group.

Right to bear arms only meant muskets like saying your right to free speech was only meant to include olde English spoken in the 1700's.

I'm not sure if this is a strawman or if the author really found a gun restriction advocate who only wants to keep muskets legal. This is the data from which to draw conclusions.

Here is the first amendment to the U. S. Constitution in its Bill of Rights.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

I think any gun libertarian would agree that there are some limits to the freedom of their neighbor's speech, especially if he's being slandered by said neighbor. It's called the Harm Principle, as elucidated by the British philosopher John Stuart Mill, from the wiki article on free speech:

In "On Liberty" (1859) John Stuart Mill argued that "...there ought to exist the fullest liberty of 

John Stuart Mill (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

professing and discussing, as a matter of ethical conviction, any doctrine, however immoral it may be considered." Mill argues that the fullest liberty of expression is required to push arguments to their logical limits, rather than the limits of social embarrassment. However, Mill also introduced what is known as the harm principle, in placing the following limitation on free expression: "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others."

Some speech is harmful and not covered by the first amendment. I'm free to lie, but I can't lie to sell a product. Well, I can be sued and jailed if I harm enough people, or make enough money.  Enforcement can't be complete, so choices have to be made. I am not free to share state secrets. I am not free to yell "Fire" in a movie theater when there isn't one.

Here is the second amendment.

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

I think most gun rights advocates agree with restrictions on private ownership of machine guns, rocket launchers, anti-personnel mines, mortars, artillery, grenades, tanks, etc. This is a version of the "no harm" principle. These weapons of modern warfare can kill many people in a short time. The restriction of machine gun ownership has not resulted in a great rise in crime committed by criminals using such weapons, contrary to the gun rights trope that only the criminals will have the illegal weapons.

In summary, the bill of rights did not give us carte blanche when it comes to speech and guns. We are not limited to olde english nor muskets. I'm free to disagree about gun ownership. I'm not free to slander or cheat someone with my freedom. I don't think weapons of mass killing should be in the hands of civilians. Piecemeal restrictions in different states do not work very well because the states work against each other. It's a federal issue, but the federal lawmakers are political cowards. (I used my right to free speech there.) The federal government has reserved for itself the right to make sure the militia is well ordered.The National Guard or the Police are examples of well ordered militias. If you aren't in either of those, you are not in a (legal) militia. If you want to hunt, big ammo clips and semi-automatic weapons are the wrong features. If you want to rebel against your government, you will lose. The government always has bigger guns and more soldiers. The government is not afraid of you. If you are someone who follows Jesus, his apostle, Paul, tells us to submit to our government, not take up arms against it. If you want to protect your person and property, there are non-lethal ways to do it. If you are a follower of Jesus, he has something to say about not protecting our persons and properties in his sermon on the mount. If you want to protect others, let's work together to support a massive reduction in the number of military grade weapons of mass killing in disordered militias.

Previously, I explained how making cars illegal because they kill people is, like this argument, also silly. In light of this topic, I also wrote how much more good could be done with the same money that is spent on a firearm. I wondered if there are better options for personal security. Finally, I wrote about how this American Christian reads the words of Jesus in light of my rights and which citizenship is more important.

8th anniversary of the Umblog

Here is what I wrote in my first post on March 24th, 2005,

I've grown up in the church and still remain committed to staying with this ship of fools until we reach the sunset and the welcome reception of Jesus Christ. I hope to point out the pirates on our journey but also give a hand to my fellow fools who might be accused of piracy.

I'm hoping to do this better than I have over the past eight years and 2200 posts.

Jesus Christ Crucifix (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The evangelical Jefferson Bible

Facebook is a great place to find inspiration for blog posts. Have you seen this false one about General Pershing and Philippino Muslim terrorists? It's totally gruesome.

A [completely not-]True story about General "Black Jack" Pershing.
Born September 13th, 1860 near Laclede, Mississippi
Died July 15th, 1948 in Washington, D.C.
1891 Professor of Military Science and Tactics University of Nebraska
1898 Serves in the Spanish-American War 1901 Awarded rank of Captain
1906 Promoted to rank of Brigadier General 1909 Military Governor of Moro Province, Philippines
1916 Made Major General 1919 Promoted to General of the Armies 1921 Appointed Chief of Staff
1924 Retires from active duty Education: 4 Years-West Point
One important thing to remember is that Muslims detest pork because they believe pigs are filthy animals. Some of them simply refuse to eat it, while others won't even touch pigs at all, nor any of their by-products. To them, eating or touching a pig, its meat, its blood, etc., is to be instantly barred from paradise and doomed to hell. Just before World War I, there were a number of terrorist attacks against the United States and it's interests by, you guessed it, Muslim extremists. So General Pershing captured 50 of the terrorists and had them tied to posts execution style. He then had his men bring in two pigs and slaughter them in front of the, now horrified, terrorists. The soldiers then soaked their bullets in pigs blood, and proceeded to execute 49 of the terrorists by firing squad. The soldiers then dug a big hole, dumped in the terrorist's bodies and covered them in pig blood, entrails, etc. They let the 50th man go. And for about the next 42 years, there was not a single attack by a muslim fanatic anywhere in the world.

Yeah, I have facebook friends who post crap like this. The worst part is they are fellow believers in Jesus Christ. And I wonder, do they remember what Jesus said? Do they remember the 2nd greatest commandment in his opinion, to love our neighbors as ourselves? Do they remember the sermon on the mount?

Matthew 5:7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy...
9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God...
21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell...
 38 “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also. 40 If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too. 41 If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. 42 Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow. 43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect...
Matthew 7: 12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Jesus also tells me in Matthew 7:1 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged." So I need to be careful here.

I do believe justice will come. But I am entrusting that to God. Paul quotes the Old Testament to make this point clear.

Romans 12:19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. 20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.” 21 Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.

Evangelicals like to mock the Jefferson Bible. The American founding father Thomas Jefferson liked Jesus, but he was a practical and modern man, so he physically excised the miraculous stuff out his Bible, as well as some other doctrines that he didn't care for. When I read the vicious political statements that my believing brothers and sisters put on their Facebook walls, I wonder if they too have excised the Jesus stuff they find irrational from their Bibles. I agree it is irrational. It's insane. But his teaching has worked. It has changed the world. I recommend reading this short interview in Christianity Today, Brother Andrew's Prophetic Plea: Stop Murdering Terrorists. It's time to live out the red letters in the Bible.

Thoughts on Holy Saturday, Day 40, Lent 2013

Today is the last day of waiting, after forty days of preparation. Part of my preparation for Resurrection Day has been reading through the entire Bible. This afternoon I finished Peter's epistles and John's and Jude's as well as John's mind blowing vision at the end of the end, the Apocalypse.

16th century Russian icon of the Descent into Hades of Jesus Christ, which is the icon for Holy and Great Saturday. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Holy Saturday is the quiet, in between time, when Christ is hidden. I think most of my life has felt like Holy Saturday. Sometimes there is tragic pain, that Christ accompanies me in, a Good Friday, and sometimes there is a euphoric encounter with the risen Christ, but a lot of life is melancholic for me. I don't think I'm unusual in living life with a knapsack of pain slung over my shoulder. I've been through the slough of despair, the valley of the shadow of death, and I've been to the mountaintop. Resurrection day reminds me that my life will ultimately end on the mountaintop.

Holy Saturday falls on the Sabbath, when God rested from working on his creation. This day is a time for rest.  I admit, I'm tired of my Lenten fast. I'm starting to cheat on it. I'm eager for the feast tomorrow. I'm also eager for the heavenly feast John describes as the marriage supper of the lamb, when Christ, the groom and the sacrificed lamb, is united with his church, the bride purchased with his blood, in heaven. And this is the day that reminds me to wait. Waiting sucks, but it makes the thing waited for even better. Peter encourages the church in its time of waiting, even today in his second letter.

2 Peter 3:3,4 Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 4 They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.”

2 Peter 3:8, 9 But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Jesus seeks to reconcile with as many as possible. The waiting will make the party even better.

Thanks for joining me on my Bible journey this Lent,

Looking forward to the resurrection,

John

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Thoughts on Good Friday, Day 39, Lent 2013

Today's Lenten reading started in 1 Timothy and ended in James. Good Friday has narrowed my focus. There's this bloody passage in Hebrews 9:11-15

Icon of the Crucifixion, 16th century, by Theophanes the Cretan (Stavronikita Monastery, Mount Athos) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

11 So Christ has now become the High Priest over all the good things that have come. He has entered that greater, more perfect Tabernacle in heaven, which was not made by human hands and is not part of this created world. 12 With his own blood—not the blood of goats and calves—he entered the Most Holy Place once for all time and secured our redemption forever. 13 Under the old system, the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a young cow could cleanse people’s bodies from ceremonial impurity. 14 Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins. 15 That is why he is the one who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant.

I attended a worship service this afternoon and used the hymnal as a guide for meditation. One hymn, by William Cowper in the 1700's, stands out to me in light of this passage.

1. There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins;
 and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
 and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
 2. The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
 and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.
 Wash all my sins away, wash all my sins away;
 and there may I, though vile as he, wash all my sins away.
 3. Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood shall never lose its power
 till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
 Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
 till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
 4. E'er since, by faith, I saw the stream thy flowing wounds supply,
 redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
 And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
 redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
 5. Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I'll sing thy power to save,
 when this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
 Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
 when this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Thoughts on Paul's epistles, Day 38, Lent 2013

Today's Lenten Bible reading covered 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First and Second Thessalonians. Since it is Holy Week, my eyes and ears are tuned into the topic of the cross. Theological topics abound in the dense writing of Paul, so I am picking one topic, Good Friday and Resurrection Day. Here are some clips on that topic.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

I can see how people who are universalists find support for their theological position in this section. Here is what I've been taught. Jesus did die for the sins of the world. Everything has been forgiven. There is only one thing to do, believe in Jesus. By analogy, a check has been made out to everyone to get into heaven for free, you just need to sign your name to it.

Galatians 1:3-5 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.  Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.  All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

Who did Jesus give his life to, for our sins? Hebrews tells us that he offered himself to God his father for us. According to Mark 10:45 and 1 Timothy 2:5-6, he ransomed himself. The ransom theory of the atonement is an interesting one.

Ephesians 2:4-7 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,  that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)  For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

Our resurrection hope is tied up with Jesus' resurrection fact.

Philippians 2:5-11 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This is, more than likely, an early church hymn with heavy duty Christology. Jesus is God, yet he took on flesh, "incarnate" in Latin, so he could die.

Colossians 1:19-22 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

There's another one of those universalist verses. In the context of other passages, hell seems pretty real. The previous explanation still holds water for me.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 And they speak of how you are looking forward to the coming of God’s Son from heaven—Jesus, whom God raised from the dead. He is the one who has rescued us from the terrors of the coming judgment.

This does not make a universalist happy. Nevertheless, being rescued by Jesus from the coming judgment makes me happy.

2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. He called you to salvation when we told you the Good News; now you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I looked in vain for a reference to the cross in 2 Thess. I settled for a trinity passage instead.

Thoughts on Romans and 1 Corinthians, Day 37, Lent 2013

Today's Lenten reading covers Romans and 1 Corinthians. Since Good Friday and Resurrection Day are fast approaching, these two passages from the letter to the church in Corinth caught my ear.

Christ icon in Taizé (Photo credit: lgambett)

The first passage is from the beginning of the letter. God's ways do not make any sense of all. His victory comes through his death. The king gives himself up. Why would anyone be attracted to a man, wrongfully convicted, able to stop his execution at an time, writhing on a cross, suffocating to death? In what world does this make sense?

1 Corinthians 1:18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.” 20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. 22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

Jesus has introduced a new world order. His resurrection validated everything he taught.

Shroud of Turin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

1 Corinthians 15 Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. 2 It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. 3 I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. 4 He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. 5 He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve. 6 After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. 7 Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. 9 For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church.
...
12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. 20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

The Resurrection from Grünewald's Isenheim Altarpiece was a direct influence on Three Studies. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

His victory over death means all who believe in him will have this victory as well. The King was crowned, not with a golden headpiece, but with woven thorns. He overcame violence with peace. He won by losing. It still doesn't make sense.

Thoughts on the Acts of the Apostles, Day 36, Lent 2013

I listened to all of the Acts of the Apostles today in today's Lenten reading. I did not read a word. Nevertheless, it's a great aural experience. Luke tells a good story. He flashes back a little before the end of his gospel. Before Jesus departs to heaven, he tells the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit. While worshiping, the Holy Spirit comes on the community and crazy stuff happens. They worship God in new languages. Flames flicker over their heads. It's wild and it draws a crowd, to whom Peter preaches. Thousands are converted to following Jesus after this sermon and they start living communally like a bunch of hippies. But the religious establishment that tried to kill Jesus doesn't like it at all. So they commence the beatings and jailings. One of their chief Capos is a Pharisee named Saul. He presides over a spontaneous stoning of a Christian deacon named Stephen. But Jesus personally intervenes and confronts Saul on his way to Damascus. He also temporarily blinds Saul to emphasize his point. Saul converts, changes his name to Paul, and starts spreading the good news around the Mediterranean. Acts ends with him under house arrest in Rome, waiting for a trial.

Peter does several miracles that are Christ-like in their wow factor. Later on, Paul does several of the same miracles. They both heal crippled guys. Demons are cast out, healings happen at a distance, without a touch, angels spring them from jails, and dead people are resuscitated supernaturally. Later on in the book, Luke switches from 3rd person to 1st person plural. He joins Paul on his travels. My Greek teacher suggested to us that Luke wanted to validate Paul's ministry bu showing that he could do everything Peter could do.


I grabbed this chart from the Blue Letter Bible website.

Miracles	Where Wrought	Recorded In
Peter heals a lame man	Jerusalem	3:1-11
Ananias and Sapphira struck dead	Jerusalem	5:1-10
Apostles perform many wonders	Jerusalem	5:12-16
Peter and John communicate the Holy Spirit	Samaria	8:14-17
Peter heals Eneas of a palsy	Lydda	9:33-34
Peter raises Tabitha, or Dorcas, to life	Joppa	9:36-41
Peter delivered out of prison by an angel	Jerusalem	12:7-17
God smites Herod, so that he dies	Jerusalem	12:21-23
Elymas, the sorcerer, smitten with blindness	Paphos	13:6-11
Paul converted	Road to Damascus	9:1-9
Paul heals a cripple	Lystra	14:8-10
Paul casts out a spirit of divination	Philippi	16:16-18
Paul and Silas's prison doors opened by an earthquake	Philippi	16:25-26
Paul communicates the Holy Spirit	Corinth	19:1-6
Paul heals multitudes	Corinth	19:11-12
Paul restores Eutychus to life	Troas	20:9-12
Paul shakes off a viper	Malta	28:3-6
Paul heals the father of Publius and others	Malta	28:7-9