{"id":4587,"date":"2014-12-22T04:30:13","date_gmt":"2014-12-21T22:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/intelligent-torvalds.74-208-171-134.plesk.page\/?p=4587"},"modified":"2025-12-29T10:40:56","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T16:40:56","slug":"my-reasons-and-my-reason-part-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/?p=4587","title":{"rendered":"My Reasons and My Reason, Part 6"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is another way I might view the wrath of God<\/em>\u2026revealed from heaven against<\/em> [my] ungodliness and unrighteousness<\/em>,[1]<\/sup><\/a> a way more in keeping with my normal method of Bible study\u2014superficially more in keeping with it.\u00a0 I confess that, Although<\/em> [I] claimed to be wise<\/em>, [I] became<\/em> [a fool] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings<\/em>\u2026[2]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I am one of them<\/em> of which Paul wrote: Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves<\/a><\/em>.[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

The Greek word translated dishonor<\/em> above is \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b1\u03b9 (a form of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9<\/a>).\u00a0 Jesus told a parable about a man who planted a vineyard and leased it out to tenant farmers (Mark 12:2-5 NET):<\/p>\n

At harvest time he sent a slave to the tenants to collect from them his portion of the crop. \u00a0But those tenants seized his slave, beat (\u1f14\u03b4\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd, a form of \u03b4\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9<\/a>)<\/em> him, and sent him away empty-handed. \u00a0So he sent another slave to them again. \u00a0This one they struck on the head and treated outrageously (\u1f20\u03c4\u03af\u03bc\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd, another form of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9)<\/em>. \u00a0He sent another, and that one they killed. \u00a0This happened to many others, some of whom were beaten (\u03b4\u03ad\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2, another form of \u03b4\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9)<\/em>, others killed.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They beat<\/em> (\u03b4\u03b5\u03af\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2, another form of \u03b4\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9) this one too<\/em>, Luke\u2019s Gospel narrative reads, treated him outrageously<\/em> (\u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2, another form of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9), and sent him away empty-handed<\/em>.[4]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 So the word translated dishonor<\/em> in Romans 1:24 was associated here with a beating.\u00a0 This association is explicit in Acts.\u00a0 The highest legal court in Jerusalem summoned the apostles and had them beaten<\/em> (\u03b4\u03b5\u03af\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2, another form of \u03b4\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9). \u00a0Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus and released them. \u00a0So they left the council rejoicing because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor<\/em> (\u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03c3\u03b8\u1fc6\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9, another form of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9) for the sake of the name<\/a><\/em>.[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve considered that my masochism is one of the potential meanings of the wrath of God revealed from heaven.\u00a0 It is a desire of my heart.\u00a0 It could be considered impurity<\/a><\/em>.\u00a0 It isn\u2019t hard to find people online who propose that sexual desire, especially desire the author considers deviant, is demon inspired if not a symptom of demon possession. \u00a0But if I plug that interpretation into Paul\u2019s statement\u2014Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to <\/em>masochism, to <\/em>beat their bodies among themselves<\/em>\u2014I am not convinced or convicted of sin.\u00a0 I am excited\u2014sexually.\u00a0 The implication then, if this interpretation were true and I so blindly given over to the desire of my heart, is that I remain under the wrath of God.<\/p>\n

Such a conclusion, though disheartening, isn\u2019t rationally problematic if I believe that my salvation is partially, if not largely, predicated upon my desire and effort.\u00a0 I\u2019ve followed this line of reasoning before, and it led inexorably to my taking charge again of my righteousness without altering my natural responses at all.\u00a0 If I believe however that it does not depend on human desire or exertion, but on God who shows mercy<\/a><\/em>,[6]<\/sup><\/a> this conclusion functions something like a reductio ad absurdum<\/a>.\u00a0 It gives me pause to examine the Scriptures in more detail.<\/p>\n

Jesus had an interesting exchange with some in the temple courts (John 8:46-49 NET):<\/p>\n

Who among you can prove me guilty of any sin? \u00a0If I am telling you the truth, why don\u2019t you believe me? \u00a0The one who belongs to God listens and responds to God\u2019s words. \u00a0You don\u2019t listen and respond, because you don\u2019t belong to God.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Judeans replied, \u201cAren\u2019t we correct in saying that you are a Samaritan (\u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03af\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2, a form of \u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03af\u03c4\u03b7\u03c2<\/a>)<\/em> and are possessed by a demon?\u201d \u00a0Jesus answered, \u201cI am not possessed by a demon, but I honor my Father \u2013 and yet you dishonor (\u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5, another form of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9)<\/em> me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here dishonor<\/em> (\u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b5, another form of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9) meant name-calling and an accusation that Jesus was possessed by a demon.\u00a0 Jesus took issue most directly with the latter: I am not possessed by a demon<\/em>, He said.\u00a0 As it pertains to impurity<\/em> then, I have an instance where people with religious minds accused Jesus\u2014for being, doing and speaking the word of God\u2014of being possessed by a demon because they disagreed with Him.\u00a0 He didn\u2019t comment about being called a \u201cSamaritan\u201d but I think even that is worth some consideration here.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Jesus asked a Samaritan (\u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03af\u03b1\u03c2, a form of \u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03ac\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1<\/a>) woman for some water to drink<\/em>, though that may be difficult to discern in translation: Jesus said<\/em> to her, \u201cGive me some water to drink.\u201d<\/em>[7]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Jesus saith unto her,\u00a0Give me to drink<\/em> (ASV, KJV).\u00a0 Jesus says to her,\u00a0Give me to drink<\/em>\u00a0(DNT).\u00a0 Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cGive me a drink of water\u201d<\/em> (GWT, TEV).\u00a0 Jesus said to her,\u00a0\u201cGive Me a drink\u201d<\/em> (NKJV, NAB).\u00a0 Jesus saith to her,\u00a0\u2018Give me to drink\u2019<\/em> (YLT).\u00a0\u00a0Where I hear this as a request is in the woman\u2019s response.<\/p>\n

So the Samaritan<\/a> <\/em>(\u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2, a form of \u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2) woman said<\/em> to him, \u201cHow can you \u2013 a Jew \u2013 ask<\/em> (\u03b1\u1f30\u03c4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c2, a form of \u03b1\u1f30\u03c4\u03ad\u03c9<\/a>) me, a Samaritan<\/a> <\/em>(\u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03af\u03c4\u03b9\u03b4\u03bf\u03c2, another form of \u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2) woman, for water to drink<\/a>?\u201d<\/em>[8]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0The Greek word \u03b1\u1f30\u03c4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c2 might have been translated beg<\/em>.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 actual tone didn\u2019t convey the gruff and imperious command that many English translations of his request imply.\u00a0 \u201cWill you give me a drink?\u201d<\/em> (NIV) and \u201cWould you please give me a drink of water?\u201d<\/em> (CEV) and \u201cWould you give me a drink of water?\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(TMSG) and \u201cPlease give me a drink,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0(ISVNT) are truer to his tone in this particular case despite the fact that the statement was transmuted into a question or please<\/em> was added to text.<\/p>\n

Jesus asked her to give Him some water<\/em> (MSNT) strayed even further from a word-for-word translation yet also carries the more accurate tone. \u00a0Give me to drink<\/em> (\u03b4\u03cc\u03c2<\/a>\u00a0\u03bc\u03bf\u03b9<\/a>\u00a0\u03c0\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd<\/a>) is the same basic construction in Greek as Give us today<\/em> (\u03b4\u1f78\u03c2\u00a0\u1f21\u03bc\u1fd6\u03bd<\/a>\u00a0\u03c3\u03ae\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd<\/a>) in our plaintive cry for our daily ration of God, the bread of life<\/em>[9]<\/sup><\/a>\u2014Give us today our daily bread<\/em>[10]<\/sup><\/a>\u2014a sinner\u2019s only hope for righteousness.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think anyone who prays thus with even the slightest understanding thinks it a gruff and imperious command.<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 request surprised the Samaritan woman.\u00a0 John, wanting his readers to understand her surprise, added: For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans<\/em>;[11]<\/sup><\/a> or, For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans<\/em>.[12]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 The note<\/a> in the NET explains: \u201cThe background to the statement use nothing in common <\/em>is the general assumption among Jews that the Samaritans were ritually impure or unclean.\u00a0 Thus a Jew who used a drinking vessel after a Samaritan had touched it would become ceremonially unclean.\u201d\u00a0 This sounds as if the Jews were prejudiced against the Samaritans.\u00a0 And, ultimately, I want to assert that they were.\u00a0 But I need to take the long way around.<\/p>\n

The common assumption, if I say that Jews were prejudiced against the Samaritans, is that they misjudged the Samaritans.\u00a0 But they were fairly accurate in their judgment of Samaritans according to Scripture (2 Kings 17:6a, 24-29, 32, 33 NET).<\/p>\n

In the ninth year of Hoshea\u2019s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria\u2026The king of Assyria brought foreigners from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in the cities of Samaria in place of the Israelites. \u00a0They took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. \u00a0When they first moved in, they did not worship the Lord. \u00a0So the Lord sent lions among them and the lions were killing them. \u00a0The king of Assyria was told, \u201cThe nations whom you deported and settled in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land, so he has sent lions among them. \u00a0They are killing the people because they do not know the requirements of the God of the land.\u201d \u00a0So the king of Assyria ordered, \u201cTake back one of the priests whom you deported from there. \u00a0He must settle there and teach them the requirements of the God of the land.\u201d \u00a0So one of the priests whom they had deported from Samaria went back and settled in Bethel. \u00a0He taught them how to worship the Lord.<\/p>\n

But each of these nations made its own gods and put them in the shrines on the high places that the people of Samaria had made. \u00a0Each nation did this in the cities where they lived\u2026.At the same time they worshiped the Lord. \u00a0They appointed some of their own people to serve as priests in the shrines on the high places. \u00a0They were worshiping the Lord and at the same time serving their own gods in accordance with the practices of the nations from which they had been deported.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You shall not make for yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth beneath or that is in the water below <\/em>[Table<\/a>], the Lord commanded Israel. \u00a0You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the Lord, your God, am a jealous God<\/em>\u2026[Table<\/a>][13]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0The Jews\u2019 judgment qualifies as prejudice, I think, because they misjudged themselves and the righteousness of God.\u00a0 Jesus addressed their prejudice obliquely yet forcefully.<\/p>\n

If you had known the gift of God<\/em>, He said to a descendant of foreign idolaters, and who it is who said to you, \u2018Give me some water to drink,\u2019 you would have asked <\/em>(\u1f94\u03c4\u03b7\u03c3\u03b1\u03c2, another form of \u03b1\u1f30\u03c4\u03ad\u03c9) him, and he would have given you living water<\/em>.[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 So, without reproach, while the Samaritan woman was ignorant of the gift of God<\/em> and who Jesus is, the implication is fairly clear that this living water<\/em> was hers for the asking.\u00a0 And as we\u2019ll discover momentarily the gift of God<\/em> did not merely belong to God, the gift<\/em> is God in the person of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

This is scandalous to a religious mind.\u00a0 I feel like I\u2019m back in the garden<\/a>, but instead of a serpent offering a lying promise to be like<\/em> God, Jesus offered God Himself\u2014not to Eve the innocent or a pious Jewish woman\u2014to a Samaritan\u2014not as a reward for good behavior but as the only source of goodness: \u00a0Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, \u201cGood<\/em> (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03ad, a form of \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2<\/a>) teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?\u201d \u00a0Jesus said to him, \u201cWhy do you call me good<\/em> (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03bd, another form of \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2)? \u00a0No one is good<\/em> (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u1f78\u03c2) except God alone<\/em>.[15]<\/sup><\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir,\u201d the woman said to him, \u201cyou have no bucket and the well is deep; where then do you get this living water?\u00a0 Surely you\u2019re not greater than our ancestor Jacob, are you?<\/em>[16]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0At first I thought she was either not particularly clever or deliberately obtuse, not unlike Jesus\u2019 disciples when he told them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees<\/em>.[17]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

They had forgotten to bring bread on their journey.[18]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, \u201cIt is because we brought no bread.\u201d<\/em>[19]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 When Jesus overheard their discussion, He chided them humorously (Matthew 16:8-12 NET).<\/p>\n

\u201cYou who have such little faith<\/a> (\u1f40\u03bb\u03b9\u03b3\u03cc\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03b9, a form of \u1f40\u03bb\u03b9\u03b3\u03cc\u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2)<\/em>! \u00a0Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread? \u00a0Do you still not understand? \u00a0Don\u2019t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up? \u00a0Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up? \u00a0How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? \u00a0But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!\u201d \u00a0Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why didn\u2019t He say teaching<\/em> in the first place?\u00a0 I assume He wanted to reinforce his own teaching on the social construction of reality<\/a>: \u201cThe kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.\u201d<\/em>[20]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 But Jesus didn\u2019t chide the Samaritan woman.<\/p>\n

So I began to consider that she was cagey with this Jew who shouldn\u2019t be drinking from her bucket, probably shouldn\u2019t be speaking with her at all, much less about a gift of God<\/em>.\u00a0 Besides, she was educated enough to know that they spoke together at Jacob\u2019s well,[21]<\/sup><\/a> and indoctrinated enough to have adopted him as her ancestor (\u03c0\u03b1\u03c4\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2<\/a>, literally father<\/em>).\u00a0 So Jesus continued by contrasting living water<\/em> (\u1f55\u03b4\u03c9\u03c1<\/a>\u00a0\u03b6\u1ff6\u03bd<\/a>) to the water from Jacob\u2019s well.<\/p>\n

Everyone who drinks some of this water will be thirsty again. \u00a0But whoever drinks some of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again, but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain<\/em> (\u03c0\u03b7\u03b3\u1f74<\/a>) of water springing up to eternal life<\/em>.[22]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0My people have committed a double wrong, <\/em>the Lord spoke through Jeremiah, they have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water<\/em> (Septuagint<\/a>: \u03c0\u03b7\u03b3\u1f74\u03bd<\/a> \u1f55\u03b4\u03b1\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2<\/a> \u03b6\u03c9\u1fc6\u03c2<\/a>), and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water<\/em>.[23]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 You are the one in whom Israel may find hope, <\/em>Jeremiah prayed.\u00a0 All who leave you will suffer shame.\u00a0 Those who turn away from you will be consigned to the nether world.\u00a0 For they have rejected you, the Lord <\/em>(Hebrew: ye<\/sup>h\u00f4v\u00e2h<\/a><\/em>), the fountain of life<\/em> (Septuagint<\/a>: \u03c0\u03b7\u03b3\u1f74\u03bd \u03b6\u03c9\u1fc6\u03c2).[24]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Sir, give me this water<\/em>, the Samaritan woman said, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water<\/em>.[25]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Surely this time, I thought, Jesus should have said something to her like, Do not work for the food that disappears, but for the food that remains to eternal life \u2013 the food which the Son of Man will give to you<\/em>.[26]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 But Jesus disagreed.\u00a0 Go call your husband and come back here<\/em>,[27]<\/sup><\/a> He said instead.<\/p>\n

What?\u00a0 Where did that come from?<\/p>\n

I have no husband<\/em>,[28]<\/sup><\/a> the woman said.\u00a0 The Greek is actually \u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03b8\u03b7\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u1f74\u00a0\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd, The woman answered and said<\/em> (NKJV).\u00a0 But even that translation isn\u2019t quite sufficient.\u00a0 As I stare at the Greek I begin to think that John or the Holy Spirit has tried to communicate something of the dynamic of this conversation between a man and a woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Reference<\/td>\nNET<\/td>\nGreek<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:7<\/a><\/td>\nJesus said<\/em> to her<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7\u00a0\u1f41\u00a0\u1f38\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:9<\/a><\/td>\nSo the Samaritan woman said to him<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03bf\u1f56\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u1f74\u00a0\u1f21 \u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:10<\/a><\/td>\nJesus answered her<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03b8\u03b7\u00a0\u1f38\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2\u00a0\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:11<\/a><\/td>\nthe woman said to him<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ae<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:13<\/a><\/td>\nJesus replied<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03b8\u03b7\u00a0\u1f38\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2\u00a0\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:15<\/a><\/td>\nThe woman said to him<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1f78\u03bd\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ae<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:16<\/a><\/td>\nHe said to her<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John 4:17<\/a><\/td>\nThe woman replied<\/em>\u2026<\/td>\n\u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03b8\u03b7\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u1f74\u00a0\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

I take \u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7\u00a0\u1f41\u00a0\u1f38\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2 (Jesus said<\/em> to her<\/em>) as my point of departure for normal conversation.\u00a0 The Samaritan woman (\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u1f74\u00a0\u1f21 \u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b9\u03c2) responded in kind, \u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03bf\u1f56\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7\u00a0(literally, \u201csaid then to him\u201d).\u00a0 But Jesus opened up to her, \u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03b8\u03b7\u00a0\u1f38\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2\u00a0\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7 (literally, \u201canswered Jesus and said to her\u201d).\u00a0 I say He \u201copened up\u201d because \u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd (a form of \u1fe5\u03ad\u03c9<\/a>), though legitimately translated said<\/em>, means to pour forth<\/em>.\u00a0 The woman however remained guarded, \u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ae.\u00a0 Undeterred, Jesus remained open, \u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03b8\u03b7\u00a0\u1f38\u03b7\u03c3\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c2\u00a0\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7.\u00a0 The woman began to open up, \u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1f78\u03bd\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u03ae.\u00a0 Perhaps I\u2019m reaching here, but \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1f78\u03bd\u00a0rather than simply \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7 seems to accentuate the fact that she spoke to him<\/em>.\u00a0 Abruptly, Jesus closed up again, \u03bb\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1fc7, back to normal conversation, and the woman opened up to Him, \u1f00\u03c0\u03b5\u03ba\u03c1\u03af\u03b8\u03b7\u00a0\u1f21\u00a0\u03b3\u03c5\u03bd\u1f74\u00a0\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b5\u03bd\u00a0\u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u1ff7, and said, I have no husband<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Then Jesus commended her.\u00a0 Again, this may be difficult to hear in English translations: Thou saidst well, I have no husband<\/em> (ASV); That\u2019s right<\/em> (CEV), Thou hast well said, I have not a husband<\/em> (DNT); You\u2019re right when you say that you don\u2019t have a husband<\/em> (GWT); You are quite right in saying, \u2018I don\u2019t have a husband\u2019<\/em> (ISVNT); Thou hast well said, I have no husband<\/em> (KJV); You rightly say that you have no husband<\/em> (MSNT); You have well said, \u2018I have no husband\u2019<\/em> (NKJV); You are right when you say you don\u2019t have a husband<\/em> (TEV); That\u2019s nicely put: \u2018I have no husband\u2019<\/em> (TMSG); Well didst thou say\u2014A husband I have not<\/em> (YLT); You are right when you say you have no husband<\/em> (NIV); You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband’<\/em> (NAB); Right you are when you said, \u2018I have no husband.\u2019<\/em>[29]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>The Greek is \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03c2\u00a0\u03b5\u1f36\u03c0\u03b1\u03c2\u00a0\u1f45\u03c4\u03b9\u00a0\u1f04\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u03b1\u00a0\u03bf\u1f50\u03ba\u00a0\u1f14\u03c7\u03c9 (literally, \u201cbeautifully you poured forth that husband you not have\u201d).\u00a0 Traditionally \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03c2<\/a> is translated as the adverbial form (well<\/em>) of \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2 (good<\/em>), even \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2<\/a> (beautiful<\/em>) is translated as if it were \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2 (good<\/em>).\u00a0 Traditions have origins.\u00a0 J.A. McGuckin[30]<\/sup><\/a> credits Maximos[31]<\/sup><\/a> with the insight: \u201cThe Beautiful is identical with The Good, for all things seek the beautiful and the good at every opportunity, and there is no being that does not participate in them.\u201d\u00a0 Maximos lived half a millennium after John and the Holy Spirit chose \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03c2.\u00a0 I want to experiment with a pre-traditional reading of some Scriptures.<\/p>\n

Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce<\/em> beautiful (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2) fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire<\/em>.[32]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they can see your<\/em> beautiful (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f70, another form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2) deeds and give honor to your Father in heaven<\/em>.[33]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 In the same way, every good<\/em> (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2) tree bears<\/em> beautiful (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2, another form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2) fruit, but the bad<\/em> (\u03c3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03c3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2<\/a>) tree bears bad<\/em> (\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2, a form of \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2<\/a>) fruit. \u00a0A good<\/em> (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2) tree is not able to bear bad<\/em> (\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2, a form of \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2) fruit, nor a bad<\/em> (\u03c3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03c3\u03b1\u03c0\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2) tree to bear<\/em> beautiful (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2, another form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2) fruit. \u00a0Every tree that does not bear<\/em> beautiful (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2) fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. \u00a0So then, you will recognize them by their fruit<\/em>.[34]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>Rather than a metaphor about bad fruit (\u03ba\u03b1\u03c1\u03c0\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2\u00a0\u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2<\/a>) what follows is a vivid contrast of Jesus\u2019 beautiful good with the Pharisees\u2019 pious good<\/a> (Matthew 12:10-14 NET):<\/p>\n

A man was there [in the Synagogue]<\/em> who had a withered hand. \u00a0And they asked Jesus, \u201cIs it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?\u201d so that they could accuse him. \u00a0He said to them, \u201cWould not any one of you, if he had one sheep that fell into a pit on the Sabbath, take hold of it and lift it out? \u00a0How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! \u00a0So it is lawful to do beautifully<\/em> (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03c2)<\/em> on the Sabbath.\u201d \u00a0Then he said to the man, \u201cStretch out your hand.\u201d \u00a0He stretched it out and it was restored, as healthy as the other. \u00a0But the Pharisees went out and plotted against him, as to how they could assassinate him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Some explanation why I called\u2014the Pharisees went out and plotted<\/em> (or, counseled<\/em>) against him, as to how they could assassinate<\/em> (or, destroy<\/em>) him<\/em>\u2014a pious good<\/em> rather than evil<\/em> is in order.\u00a0 Jesus came to make atonement for sin but had not yet accomplished it in this period of transition.\u00a0 There is nothing beautiful about plotting to kill or destroy a man as there is nothing beautiful about running a man and woman through with a javelin.[35]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 But Phinehas was commended for the latter (Numbers 25:11-13 NET):<\/p>\n

\u201cPhinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites, when he manifested such zeal for my sake among them, so that I did not consume the Israelites in my zeal. \u00a0Therefore, announce: \u2018I am going to give to him my covenant of peace. \u00a0So it will be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of a permanent priesthood, because he has been zealous for his God, and has made atonement for the Israelites.\u2019\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Pharisees had this Scriptural precedent when faced with Jesus\u2019 willful and recalcitrant desecration of the Sabbath (as they perceived it).\u00a0 I could go on and on about the beautiful good but will entertain only a few more examples here (Luke 6:26-31 NET):<\/p>\n

\u201cWoe to you when all people speak (\u03b5\u1f34\u03c0\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd, another form of \u1fe5\u03ad\u03c9)<\/em> beautifully<\/em> (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03c2)<\/em> of you, for their ancestors did the same things to the false prophets.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies, do beautifully<\/em> (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03c2)<\/em> to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. \u00a0To the person who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other as well, and from the person who takes away your coat, do not withhold your tunic either. \u00a0Give to everyone who asks you, and do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away. \u00a0Treat others in the same way that you would want them to treat you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a>I am the<\/em> beautiful (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2) shepherd<\/em>, Jesus said.\u00a0 The<\/em> beautiful (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2) shepherd lays down his life for the sheep<\/em>.[36]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 And Paul\u2019s words make so much more sense if I recognize that he desired Jesus\u2019 beautiful good rather than the Pharisees\u2019 pious good,[37]<\/sup><\/a> of which he was already a master (Romans 7:15-21 NET):
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

For I don\u2019t understand what I am doing.\u00a0 For I do not do what I want \u2013 instead, I do what I hate. \u00a0But if I do what I don\u2019t want, I agree that the law is beautiful<\/em> (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2).<\/em> \u00a0But now it is no longer me doing it, but sin that lives in me. \u00a0For I know that nothing good (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03bd, a form of \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2)<\/em> lives in me, that is, in my flesh. \u00a0For I want to do the beautiful<\/em> (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2)<\/em>, but I cannot do it. \u00a0For I do not do the good (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03bd, a form of \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03cc\u03c2)<\/em> I want, but I do the very evil (\u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2<\/a>)<\/em> I do not want! \u00a0Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me. \u00a0So, I find the law that when I want to do the beautiful<\/em> (\u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2)<\/em>, evil (\u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u1f78\u03bd, a form of \u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2)<\/em> is present with me.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m not advocating for a new translation of \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u03cc\u03c2 and \u03ba\u03b1\u03bb\u1ff6\u03c2.\u00a0 As words go beautiful<\/em> is as slippery as good<\/em>.\u00a0 I\u2019m not likely to heal a withered hand in a synagogue or church any Saturday or Sunday soon, something I would wholeheartedly consider a beautiful good<\/em>.\u00a0 And it is a fair question how beautiful I feel blessing those who curse me, praying for those who mistreat me, with both cheeks red and stinging, missing my coat and my shirt.\u00a0 But when the One who commended Phinehas made atonement Himself and told us to live this way instead, I think it is important to see it as a beautiful good<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>I had to go this roundabout way to get over my tendency to hear sarcasm and ridicule<\/a> in Jesus\u2019 voice.\u00a0 Now I believe He took his roundabout course to find a reason to commend the Samaritan woman: This you said truthfully<\/em>[38]<\/sup><\/a> (\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03c4\u03bf\u00a0\u1f00\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u1f72\u03c2<\/a>\u00a0\u03b5\u1f34\u03c1\u03b7\u03ba\u03b1\u03c2). \u00a0And then He added that she in her beautiful truthfulness was exactly the kind of worshipper his Father is seeking: a time is coming \u2013 and now is here \u2013 when the true<\/em> (\u1f00\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u1f76, a form of \u1f00\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b9\u03bd\u03cc\u03c2<\/a>) worshipers will worship the Father in spirit<\/em> (\u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03cd\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9, a form of \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u1fe6\u03bc\u03b1<\/a>) and truth<\/em> (\u1f00\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03af\u1fb3, a form of \u1f00\u03bb\u03ae\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1<\/a>), for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers. \u00a0God is spirit<\/em> (\u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u1fe6\u03bc\u03b1), and the people who worship him must worship in spirit <\/em>(\u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u03cd\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b9, a form of \u03c0\u03bd\u03b5\u1fe6\u03bc\u03b1) and truth<\/em>[39]<\/sup><\/a> (\u1f00\u03bb\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5\u03af\u1fb3, a form of \u1f00\u03bb\u03ae\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1).<\/p>\n

Now I can back up and hear Jesus\u2019 other statements for what they are.\u00a0 \u201cRight you are when you said, \u2018I have no husband,\u2019 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband. \u00a0This you said truthfully!\u201d<\/em>[40]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0I would have no way of knowing this about the woman if Jesus hadn\u2019t said it.\u00a0 More to the point, He demonstrated something important for her.<\/p>\n

\u201cSir, I see that you are a prophet,\u201d<\/em>[41]<\/sup><\/a> she said.\u00a0 Taking Jesus at face value allows me to take this woman at face value as well.\u00a0 Recognizing a prophet before her, she broached the single most pressing religious issue on her mind: Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you people say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem<\/em>.[42]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 I have no idea how she was treated when she climbed the mountain in Samaria to worship God.\u00a0 I can only imagine how she might have been treated if this Samaritan woman had dared to journey to Jerusalem to worship God.<\/p>\n

The priest sent back to teach her ancestors was from the northern kingdom of divided Israel.\u00a0 From its very beginning Jeroboam, the first king, had changed the Lord\u2019s decrees (1 Kings 12:26-32 NET):<\/p>\n

Jeroboam then thought to himself: \u201cNow the Davidic dynasty could regain the kingdom. \u00a0If these people go up to offer sacrifices in the Lord\u2019s temple in Jerusalem, their loyalty could shift to their former master, King Rehoboam of Judah. \u00a0They might kill me and return to King Rehoboam of Judah.\u201d \u00a0After the king had consulted with his advisers, he made two golden calves. \u00a0Then he said to the people, \u201cIt is too much trouble for you to go up to Jerusalem. \u00a0Look, Israel, here are your gods who brought you up from the land of Egypt.\u201d \u00a0He put one in Bethel and the other in Dan. \u00a0This caused Israel to sin; the people went to Bethel and Dan to worship the calves.<\/p>\n

He built temples on the high places and appointed as priests people who were not Levites. \u00a0Jeroboam inaugurated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, like the festival celebrated in Judah. \u00a0On the altar in Bethel he offered sacrifices to the calves he had made. \u00a0In Bethel he also appointed priests for the high places he had made.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/a>I could have pummeled this woman with chapter and verse after chapter and verse of Scripture proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jerusalem was the place where people must worship God.\u00a0 Jesus did not.\u00a0 All He said on the subject was: Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. \u00a0You people worship what <\/em>(\u1f43<\/a>) you do not know. \u00a0We worship what <\/em>(\u1f43) we know, because salvation is from the Jews<\/em>.[43]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know why \u1f43 was translated what<\/em> rather than who<\/em> or whom<\/em>.\u00a0 I hope it\u2019s a subtlety of the Greek language, for Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship<\/em>[44]<\/sup><\/a> is very near the beginning of the translation of Scripture into English. \u00a0I would hate to think that the translators made a conscious decision to turn the eyes of the English-speaking world to doctrine and dogma at the very moment when Jesus turned his away.\u00a0 You Samaritans don\u2019t really know the one you worship.\u00a0 But we Jews do know the God we worship<\/em>\u2026 (CEV)\u00a0 You worship One of whom you know nothing.\u00a0 We worship One whom we know<\/em>\u2026 (MSNT)\u00a0 You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship<\/em>\u2026 (TEV)<\/p>\n

Crouching furtively in the Samaritan woman\u2019s conundrum was a desire to worship God and a concern to do it as He desired.\u00a0 Jesus heard that desire and concern, and responded to it: But a time is coming \u2013 and now is here \u2013 when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers.\u00a0 God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.\u201d<\/em>[45]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

I don\u2019t get the impression that she understood Him.\u00a0 Then, I\u2019ve spent my adult life trying everything from obeying<\/a> the law to faith alone<\/a>.\u00a0 I suppose my current understanding of worshipping the Father in spirit and truth<\/em> is living honestly by the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 The Samaritan woman did reveal a profound and faithful hope: \u201cI know that Messiah is coming\u201d (the one called Christ); \u201cwhenever he comes, he will tell us everything.\u201d\u00a0 Jesus said to her, \u201cI, the one speaking to you, am he.\u201d <\/em>[46]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Fresh from this knowledge of God I can look at the original Scriptures with fresh eyes.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 parable about the owner of the vineyard \u1f20\u03c4\u03af\u03bc\u03b1\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd and \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 (forms of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9) associated with forms of \u03b4\u03ad\u03c1\u03c9 described slaves who were beaten up.\u00a0 I have been beaten up before.\u00a0 I felt pain, anger and humiliation but no sexual excitement whatsoever.\u00a0 I can\u2019t dismiss the judicial beating associated with \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9 in Acts 5:40 and 41 quite so easily.<\/p>\n

I typed \u201cjudicial whipping fantasy\u201d into Google and \u201cMaragana Girl, Chapter 12 – The Punishment in the School Auditorium\u201d[47]<\/sup><\/a> by\u00a0caligula97236<\/strong><\/a> came up (second, actually, scanning the titles quickly I mistook \u201cJudicial Spanking in Taiwan\u201d for actual rather than fantasy punishment).\u00a0 It is a tale about twenty naked male criminals humiliated and switched by female medical students and police officers as an educational spectacle for teenage girls.\u00a0 It is couched in terms of how wrong this was and in need of reform.<\/p>\n

There is no denying that the judicial or punishment whipping fantasy is part of sado-masochistic lore.\u00a0 It is part of the reason I attempted to distinguish sadism from masochism in the first essay<\/a> of this series.\u00a0 I recall my own state of mind whenever I was the dominant masochist, as I call it:<\/p>\n

First, and not incidentally, was the sight of a beloved woman\u2019s body laid out for my enjoyment. \u00a0I measured each stroke of the whip by the sound it made, the mark it left on her beautiful flesh, how she flinched, and the whimpers or gasps she vocalized as a result.\u00a0 My goal was to whip her in tempo (both velocity and frequency) with her own growing euphoria, the same euphoria I had known at her hand as a submissive masochist.\u00a0 But beyond any goal or thought of the future was the sheer pleasure of the moment, sharing that extreme intimacy with her.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I have no access to the mind of the judicial torturer who beat Jesus\u2019 disciples.\u00a0 I suspect that it was not what I have just described.\u00a0 As I perceive it a judicial torturer is the business end of an institutional belief that certain actions, words or thoughts deserve, or may be modified for the good through, the application of physical pain and social humiliation (though I suppose the hope is that the fear of physical pain and social humiliation will achieve the latter end more often than not).<\/p>\n

Fiery hell seems to be presented in terms of physical pain.\u00a0 For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable\u2026For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality<\/em>.[48]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0The prospect, that so offended<\/a> Ingmar Bergman, of the dead being raised and given new imperishable, immortal bodies only to suffer for an eternity in hell lends credence in my mind to the deservedness of physical pain.\u00a0 Though I admit, I tend to abstract fiery hell as a metaphor for knowing, face to face beyond any doubt, that God is Love and then being cast out from his omnipresence forever.\u00a0 In that sense I can see physical pain as salutary, a welcome distraction from the actual horror of the situation.<\/p>\n

<\/a>The application or the fear of the application of physical pain and social humiliation inspires many to a hypocritical compliance with many kinds of social norms.\u00a0 It will never produce goodness: No one is good<\/em> (\u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u1f78\u03c2) except God alone<\/em>.[49]<\/sup><\/a> \u00a0The Holy Spirit mocked a faith in physical pain<\/a> and social humiliation when Jesus\u2019 disciples were beaten to conform their behavior to Jewish social norms.\u00a0 He filled them with his joy[50]<\/sup><\/a> (\u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03ac<\/a>) instead so they walked away from their beatings rejoicing <\/em>(\u03c7\u03b1\u03af\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2, a form of \u03c7\u03b1\u03af\u03c1\u03c9<\/a>) because they had been considered worthy to suffer dishonor<\/em> (\u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03b1\u03c3\u03b8\u1fc6\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9, another form of \u1f00\u03c4\u03b9\u03bc\u03ac\u03b6\u03c9) for the sake of the name<\/a><\/em>.[51]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0 Viewed this way, my concern that my masochism, dominant or submissive, is the wrath of God revealed from heaven seems as absurd as Jesus\u2019 disciples fretting because they had brought no bread.<\/em>[52]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

My Reasons and My Reason, Part 7<\/a><\/em><\/div>\n
Back to Apostles and Prophets, Part 2<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Forgiven or Passed Over? Part 1<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Apostles and Prophets, Part 3<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Jesus the Leg-breaker, Part 1<\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Young, Virginal or Single<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Romans, Part 76<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Romans, Part 79<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Romans, Part 80<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 3<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to To Make Holy, Part 1<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Who Am I? Part 6<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 3<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to My Reasons and My Reason, Part 8<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Fear – Deuteronomy, Part 11<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to To Make Holy, Part 4<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Hypocrisy<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Cobwebs<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Atonement, Part 2<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to A Monotonous Cycle Revisited, Part 2<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to To Make Holy, Part 8<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Part 3<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Psalm 22, Part 5<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Paul’s OT Quotes – Romans 3:10-18<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Romans, Part 55<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Christianity, Part 11<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 10<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Christ-Centered Preaching, Chapter 4, Part 3<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Matthew 8:23-34<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Exploration, Part 2<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Exploration, Part 13<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Exploration, Part 14<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Justice and Mercy Revisited, Part 2<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to 3 John, Part 6<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
Back to Balaam, Balak and the 24,000, Part 1<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

<\/a>[1]<\/sup> Romans 1:18 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[2]<\/sup> Romans 1:22, 23 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[3]<\/sup> Romans 1:24 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[4]<\/sup> Luke 20:11b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[5]<\/sup> Acts 5:40, 41 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[6]<\/sup> Romans 9:16 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[7]<\/sup> John 4:7b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[8]<\/sup> John 4:9a (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[9]<\/sup> John 6:25-71 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[10]<\/sup> Matthew 6:11 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[11]<\/sup> John 4:9b (NET) [Table<\/a>] The NET parallel Greek<\/a> text and NA28<\/sup><\/a> had \u03a3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u1f77\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u03c2<\/a> here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus<\/a> and Byzantine Majority Text<\/a> had \u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b1\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u03c2<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/a>[12]<\/sup> John 4:9b (NKJV) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[13]<\/sup> Exodus 20:4, 5a (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[14]<\/sup> John 4:10 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[15]<\/sup> Mark 10:17, 18 (NET) also Luke 18:18, 19 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[16]<\/sup> John 4:11, 12a (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[17]<\/sup> Matthew 16:6 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[18]<\/sup> Matthew 16:5 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[19]<\/sup> Matthew 16:7 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[20]<\/sup> Matthew 13:33 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[21]<\/sup> John 4:6<\/a>, 12b<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[22]<\/sup> John 4:13, 14 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[23]<\/sup> Jeremiah 2:13 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[24]<\/sup> Jeremiah 17:13 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[25]<\/sup> John 4:15 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[26]<\/sup> John 6:27a (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[27]<\/sup> John 4:16 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[28]<\/sup> John 4:17a (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[29]<\/sup> John 4:17b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[30]<\/sup> http:\/\/www.spc.rs\/eng\/notion_beautiful_ancient_greek_thought_and_its_christian_patristic_transfiguration_ja_mcguckin<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[31]<\/sup> http:\/\/ww1.antiochian.org\/saint_maximos<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[32]<\/sup> Matthew 3:10 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[33]<\/sup> Matthew 5:16 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[34]<\/sup> Matthew 7:17-20 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[35]<\/sup> Numbers 25:1-9 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[36]<\/sup> John 10:11 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[37]<\/sup> Philippians 3:1-11 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[38]<\/sup> John 4:18b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[39]<\/sup> John 4:23, 24 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[40]<\/sup> John 4:17b, 18 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[41]<\/sup> John 4:19 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[42]<\/sup> John 4:20 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[43]<\/sup> John 4:21, 22 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[44]<\/sup> John 4:22 (KJV)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[45]<\/sup> John 4:23, 24 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[46]<\/sup> John 4:25, 26 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[47]<\/sup> http:\/\/www.i.literotica.com\/stories\/showstory.php?id=464923<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[48]<\/sup> 1 Corinthians 15:52, 53 (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[49]<\/sup> Luke 18:19b (NET)<\/p>\n

<\/a>[50]<\/sup> Galatians 5:22 (NET)<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[51]<\/sup> Acts 5:41 (NET) Table<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>[52]<\/sup> Matthew 16:7 (NET)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There is another way I might view the wrath of God\u2026revealed from heaven against [my] ungodliness and unrighteousness,[1] a way more in keeping with my normal method of Bible study\u2014superficially more in keeping with it.\u00a0 I confess that, Although [I] … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2272,2719],"tags":[2663,2636,2637,2635,2632,654,2638,2647,2646,2639,2641,2096,2648,2650,2651,2660,2658,2661,2662,2664,2659,2665,2634,151,2649,2633,2332,2631,2656,2640,2630,2654,2645,2642,2643,2644,1955,2652,1441,2653,2655,358,2629,703,2657,544],"class_list":["post-4587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-reasons-and-my-reason","category-section-three","tag-1-kings-1226-32","tag-2-kings-1724-29","tag-2-kings-1732-33","tag-2-kings-176","tag-acts-540-41","tag-acts-541","tag-exodus-204-5","tag-jeremiah-1713","tag-jeremiah-213","tag-john-410","tag-john-411-12","tag-john-413-14","tag-john-415","tag-john-416","tag-john-417","tag-john-417-18","tag-john-418","tag-john-419","tag-john-420","tag-john-421-22","tag-john-423-24","tag-john-425-26","tag-john-47","tag-john-49","tag-john-627","tag-john-846-49","tag-luke-1819","tag-luke-2011","tag-luke-626-31","tag-mark-1017-18","tag-mark-122-5","tag-matthew-1210-14","tag-matthew-1333","tag-matthew-166","tag-matthew-167","tag-matthew-168-12","tag-matthew-310","tag-matthew-516","tag-matthew-611","tag-matthew-717-20","tag-numbers-2511-13","tag-romans-118","tag-romans-122-23","tag-romans-124","tag-romans-715-21","tag-romans-916"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4587","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4587"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4587\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28592,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4587\/revisions\/28592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4587"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4587"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/religiousmind.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4587"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}