30 March 2013

Guards at Jesus tomb

Who were the guards outside Jesus' tomb?

Matthew 6:62-66 says that the chief priests and Pharisees requested of Pilate that Jesus' tomb be guarded.  They thought that if word breaks out in the future that Jesus had come back to life, then "all hell would break lose".  People would believe in Jesus.  The religious leaders would lose control.  So to make sure that such a rumour would not be fabricated, they wanted the tomb sealed and guarded.

Pilate consented.  He either said "You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can." or "Take a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can." (according to the ESV version of the Bible, and noting the footnote).

The two possible meanings leave us some ambiguity.  Were the guards from Pilate's Roman soldiers?  Or were they temple guards?  Does it make a difference to the story?

I read an article that studied the difference, and thought about it.

In a way, yes, it does make a difference.  Roman soldiers are better trained, and more committed to the tasks assigned to them.  They face a penalty of execution if they slept on the job.  Temple guards can be forgiven more easily.  Temple guards report to the chief priests.  Roman guards report back to their centurion, and ultimately back to Pilate.  Hence Matthew 28:11 could imply that they were temple guards instead of being Roman guards, although the word "some" leave the ambiguity there.

For Jesus' followers to steal the body would be less likely to happen in the case of Roman guards.  However, Jesus' followers were feeling sad, depressed, confused and afraid at the time.  They were not in a position to overcome either guard or to roll away the stone.  Matthew 28:2 says that there was an earthquake, and an angel of the Lord rolled the stone away.

The story about the guard stopped at this point.  It was deemed to be no longer significant enough to write about, as in either case, their story was no longer credible.  The main point, regardless of which guard, is that Jesus did rise from the dead.

If Jesus' followers did fabricate the story, then the details of the fabrication would have come out during torture or threat of death.  But they were too afraid at the time to try something so heroic at the time anyway.  If Joseph of Arimethea changed his mind and moved the body before the guard was placed, then either he or his accomplices would have confessed ... or the body would have been found at some stage.

I think Jesus' resurrection really happened.  What do you think?  What plausible stories can you think of to say it didn't happen if you don't believe it?  What convinces you that the story is true if you believe it?  Please share.

24 March 2013

Gratitude

Politeness, gratitude, the willingness to apologise and friendliness - these are the traits of the Japanese that probably will survive Westernisation.  Dr Huffman's interesting article in the Japan Times thinks so, anyway.

I thought those values were Western as well, until I read the article.  Then I realise that I have not heard people saying "thank you" as often now as I used to.  The thanks is often just assumed.

The four traits described are related, I think.  It is polite to express one's gratitude, and to apologise when one has caused offence, or potential offence.  Such politeness is only friendly.

I learnt these values in English when I was a child.  Many other people did as well.  However, these values seem to have deteriorated to a certain extent in today's Western society.  As we find ourselves more egoistic, more rushed for time, and more multicultural, we assume the same politeness without expressing it as much compared to the "good old days".

Such is my observation anyway.  What do you think?

Randi Zukerberg seems to agree with me.  Her post said that "Just Because We’re Time Starved Doesn’t Mean We Should Be Rude".

I found her post challenging, as I struggle with time.  There are thank-you cards that I should write, but have not found time to do.  I have filled my time pretty much to the max, and need to catch up on some tasks like that.  How about you?

Should we make more time to be less busy, to reflect and to say "thank you" for the blessings we have received?  Why or why not?  What do you think?

20 March 2013

Busy without feeling rushed

Apparently, the key to happiness is to feel busy without being rushed.  This was the conclusion of studies published by Tom Jacobs and John Robinson. Hardly surprising, really.  I think these results are quite true universally, not just American.  What do you think?

Apparently, to be able to maintain working with this kind of feeling keeps one happy even without holidays.  That is, if one did not have other things that they want to do on a holiday, eg. to see the world or to be involved with hobbies, to visit friends or to clean their house.  Holidays are good as a break from the usual routine, but not necessary for happiness, if one is not too stressed by the rushes.

I think stress is good, for achieving goals ... although it needs to be at the right level and not to be too heavy or too light.  I suppose this is what being too busy is all about - it is not the busyness, but the stress that causes us to complain.

We like to be busy, generally ... we like short breaks from the busyness, but we feel unaccomplished if we need to tell others that we have been idle for too long.  But not too stressed out while being busy.

Is this just common sense, or is there something profound to be learnt from this?  What do you think the right balance between stress, busyness and idleness is?  How do you think we should live our lives?

Is being busy all there is to life?  Does the busyness need to fit a purpose or a goal?  Can it be any goal?  What do you think?

13 March 2013

Retention

How does one retain supporters for one's political party?  How does one keep one's customers?  Gets the visitors to one's website to keep coming back?

Colin Myles' blog post spoke well on this topic.  What do you think of it?  Does it challenge you?

I think the same principles apply to churches.  We wish to get people to come to attend church.  We wish to have these people come back and attend regularly.  But the hypocrisy turns visitors away.  Older members die.  Families with children move away.  How do we grow churches in these circumstances?

(At least the internet and multinational corporations are accessible from almost everywhere ... churches with physical addresses are not as accessible when one is overseas.)

I think the real aim of the church is to introduce people to Jesus.  What do you think?

Are churches out for conversions or for retentions?

How do we keep people interested enough to keep coming back?

06 March 2013

Beliefs of young people

Many people were shocked to hear that Mosese Fotuaika killed himself.  The natural question people asked was "why"?  Mosese was a young man, and a rising football star with the Balmain Tigers.  He shouldn't be feeling depressed and upset about his life.  He had a promising career ahead of him.  Why would he do such a thing?

I suppose we will never know for sure.  Some think it could be because of a mental health issue.  This leads me to the next question - what do young people think about themselves?  Do they see themselves as able to face the world?  Do they feel that life is worth living?

As many people grow up, they are told many things about themselves.  Some are told that they are wimps.  Ugly.  Lack potential.  Etc.  Some are told other things.  People can grow up believing the truth, some end up believing lies.

I found http://www.charismamag.com/life/culture/16886-an-open-letter-to-gay-teens interesting.  The article addressed an issue where a teenager believes that he is gay, when his parents know he is not.  Are young people around you similarly deceived?  What other deceptions do young people face?

I am sure some would be told very positive things as well.  And in this culture of positive thinking, one would rather believe a positive lie than to believe the truth or believe a negative one.

I believe that Steve got it right when he said that "human beings are paradoxical. We are mere dust, and yet we have the breath of God within us."  I think we should not be too proud of ourselves, but at the same time, also realise that we are something of value in the eyes of God.

What do you think?  What would you encourage the young people around you to think?