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Number six on My-List-of-Fun-Things-To-Be- When-I-Grow-Up: A sly British judge. Justice Peter Smith on the British High Court recently made news by ruling that Dan Brown – the author of the Da Vinci Code – did not plagiarize from other sources when writing his controversial novel. Today the judge made news again, when one lawyer finally noticed the hidden code embedded in the judge’s actual written ruling. (Da Vinci judge’s secret code revealed – Reuters) Whee!

Turns out the message doesn’t reveal any remarkable Gnostic secrets. But it’s fun anyhow.

Plus, I’d like the wearing the wig.

Many know that I’m a pretty big fan of the author, priest, philosopher, and spiritual director Henri Nouwen. His depth-founding thoughts regularly find that place in my spirit that I had forgotten. Today I was reminded of these quotes by him:

The great mystery of the divine revelation is that God entered into intimacy with us not only by Christ’s coming but also by his leaving.

God’s presence is so much beyond the human experience of being together that it quite easily is perceived as absence. God’s absence, on the other hand, is often so deeply felt that is leads to a new sense of God’s presence.

The experience of God’s presence is not void of pain. But the pain is so deep that you do not want to miss it since it is in this pain that the joy of God’s presence can be tasted… in which the distinction between joy and pain seems to be transcended…

~ Henri Nouwen

A quick and fun exercise. For each of the biblical commands or statements below, answer: Which of these instructions from Scipture are still in force for us today exactly as they are articulated “on the page”? You have a couple choices:

A. This instruction is still in force completely as stated
B. This instruction is in force only in part or in a modified fashion through an underlying principle
C. This no longer applies today

(hint: don’t forget to note the scripture references!) Have fun.
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___ “God… said to them [Adam and Eve], ‘Be fruitful and increase in number’” (Gen 1.28)

___ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Duet 6.5)

___ “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce… you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow” (Duet 26.12)

___ “Greet on another with a holy kiss” (1 Cor 16.20)

___ “Women should remain silent in the churches” (1 Cor 14.34)

___ “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman” (Lev 18.22)

___ “Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it” (Lev 18.23)

___ “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matt 28.19)

___ “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13.14)

___ “Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish” (Prov 31.6-7)

___ “Praise God with tambourine and dancing… praise him with the clash of cymbals” (Ps 150.4-5)

___ “Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh” (1 Pet 2.18)

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If you – like me – hold the Scriptures as God’s story and voice that is our bedrock for life and practice… this can make your head spin, huh? The above text is copied almost verbatim from Slaves, Women, and Homosexuals by William J Webb. The topic is cultural hermeneutics, and I think to be a Jesus-follower or a critic alike – we need to understand this…

technocrati tags: cultural hermenutics theology christian thought William J Webb homosexual