the greek/hebrew question

So I decided one day that I should probably read that weird first two-thirds of my Bible that no one really talks about in church, except the occasional reference—when they make occasional references to Winston Churchill also, you think it must not be that important. I don’t know if you know this, but there is this whole story going on in the Bible. Not just a story frame so that Paul can get to the preaching as it is so often portrayed. No there is this real story about how there is the powerful nation who is holding a people in slavery and then you get to watch all the slips and falls as they rise as a nation themselves…then fall again.

All kidding aside, one distinction which has been coming up a lot in my various studies is between the Greco-Roman (western) and the Hebrew (eastern) worldviews. I have been reading through the Old Testament lately. I took most of last Spring reading through the New Testament, now I have gone back to the beginning of the story. I was handed a copy of Rob Bell’s newest book Jesus Wants to Save Christians, last week at church by a friend to read. Also I just started listening to podcasts of lectures from Hubert Dryfus’ ‘Existentialism in Literature & Film’ which Jake has spent some time talking about on his blog, which spurred a lot of discussion. I definitely want to {re}open that can-o-worms and discuss Kierkegaard’s idea of the teleological suspension of the ethical among other ideas—but that post is for another day, today is for examining the tension of Hebrew and Greek culture.

Much of recent emergent literature has been deconstructing the influence of Greek culture upon Modern Christianity.The influence of Plato and Aristotle on Christianity is hard to miss after it’s been pointed it out. It is so deeply seated today, that most would think that Plato must have been influenced by Jesus or Paul because of the way it is portrayed as so basic to the faith. The great early theologian St. Augustine spent much of his work synthesizing the works of Plato with that of the Bible; the same goes for the later theologian Thomas Aquinas, except it was Aristotle instead. These influences can be seen in our conceptions of the earthly/heavenly distinctions. We all long for heaven because that is where everything is perfect. Everything is of such a lesser value down here. This talk is pulled dramatically from the dialogues of Plato, as in the Symposium where Plato describes beauty in it’s higher forms, until you are totally abstracted in an absolutely non-earthly form of beauty.

Another way which we have been tied to the Greeks is in our conception of truth, the logos. We have tied ourselves to an understanding of truth in a rationalistic propositional construction. This ties back into what I was just discussing; what is most true is going to be that which is completely abstracted from the earthly existential. These particular instances are of lesser value than the abstract principles. This understanding of Truth has colored our conception of salvation. We value the belief in principles/tenets of faith. It becomes vitally important to believe correctly—orthodoxy.

These principles are very different and foreign to the Hebrew understanding of the world. Firstly, Truth is not foremost, something of proposition and abstraction but something of particularity, something lived out in one’s life. You live your life in truth—orthopraxy. This opens up one’s faith to the world which we find ourselves in. The strict Hebrew life which you find decreed to Moses is impossible to follow without a community. It took a whole tribe (a small town) simply to keep up with the temple and the sacrifices. Their understanding of the earthly/heavenly distinction is rather nonexistent when you read about God coming down as a pillar of fire or a cloud. Moses having to call out to God to keep God from killing all the Israelites. There is nothing abstract or distant about that.

I can’t help but love and respect Judaism the more I study their practices and understandings of life. Although it is easy as Christians for us to discount that Jewish heritage; it is easily done by just writing them all off as Pharisees. The more I study, the more I realize I need to learn and side with the Jewish heritage which I have been into and less the Greek influence which I have been taught.

Rob Bell has spent a lot of time with this topic; I know from the two books I have read Velvet Elvis and Jesus Wants to Save Christians, that the reclaiming of the Jewish Jesus and His Jewish faith are very central themes for his life and work. In his latest book he gives much time and discussion to painting a picture of the Jewish story, without the constant allusions to the N.T. that most of the pastors/Sunday school teachers give.

The Jewish story is a God bringing a people out of exile, putting them in a place of power {so they can then influence the world, bringing peace, love, shalom to all}, but then watching them missing the mark and falling into foreign control again because of their mistakes. Rob Bell after patiently laying all this out, shows how Christ is the completion of that story. It is not that Christ started a new story, because the Israelites just couldn’t finish it out. Christ is a very Jewish Messiah; he is fully God, who has come to walk among his people and show them how to live out this covenant that he has with them. God as man walking on the earth as a person, is absolutely non-Greek. Socrates would have laughed at such an idea; he was actually put to death because of his defimations of Greek Mythology.

To kill this unruly beast of a post that I have created, let me just say one more thing. I think that as we Christiains move forward into whatever post – modern,industrial,colonial,information age that we live in we need to work hard at {re}connecting to our Hebrew brothers and {dis}engaging with the foolishness of the Greeks. Even if we can’t do it for any other reason than this, the Jewish will find salvation in Christ at the second coming…so that means we will see these people in heaven.{winkwink}