Celestial Quest
CHAPTER III - THE TRADITIONALISTS Since these Traditionalists are people of the ―Book‖ let‘s begin with what I consider a very germane message from Paul, recorded in the King James version of Acts 17:22-29: ―Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are superstitious, for as I passed by, beheld your devotions I found an altar with this inscription: ―TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.‖ Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto You: god that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples (i.e.bldgs.) made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and has made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord if happily they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from everyone of us; For in him we live and move and have our being (as certain also of your own poets have said), for we are also his offspring.‖ This God of Paul is ―Christ Jesus,‖ and if one devotes his/her time to the study of the Bible, and does not put the teachings/message of Jesus into practice (on a daily basis), all this excessive reading is no more than a mental exercise. This is especially true if you spend an inordinate amount of time laboriously wading through the many books of the ―Old Testament‖ (much of which is an Epic of the Jewish tribes), just to be able to recite names, places, and events. It‘s sort of like taking a college literature or history course just to get your required credits. Dwelling on the O.T. as so many in the religious community do, can, in my humble opinion, stifle or complicate our relationship with Jesus. Our belief in, and love of Jesus, should always be uppermost in our hearts. Instead of becoming, caught up in, and even confused by the extremely fearful, threatening, killings/wars and considerable destructively-oriented, discourses (incl. Outright inconsistency with actual teachings and life of Jesus) of the O.T., why not draw (for validation) only those specific references to scripture made by Jesus, as part of his ministry of love. For example, numerous messianic prophecies; and of course, the ―law‖ (commandments). It is to be noted, however, that the O.T. literature is an exceptional read. It is an integral part of ancient history, ripe with ―Homeric‖ oriented mythology; Epic-style treatment of wanderings of Jewish tribes and their national history; extensive genealogical, legalistic, and ritualistic instruction; beautiful poetry, psalms, and prophecy. We do not, however, need anything near a Ph.D. in ancient history or religion to know what our Lord Jesus expects of us. It‘s right there in the relatively brief Gospels, very succinctly stated in oft-translated, but still beautiful words of the Teacher from Nazareth. It is all so very simple. The important thing, however, is to put his beautiful message of love into practice in our everyday thoughts and doings. Don‘t ever forget that God is Love. One‘s personal ministry should be based on the ministry of Jesus (i.e. ministry of love). When one is won over to Christ Jesus and his message of love, good naturally follows, whereas a ministry based on fear of God and threats is highly suspect, and shortterm at best. ―Not everyone who saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 7:21). ―And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful 44