Part XII Matthew: Matthew Introduces John the Baptist-The New Elijah

Column by Bishop John Shelby Spong on 30 January 2014 1 Comments
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Question

Portland, Victoria, Australia, a small tourist town 400 kilometers west of Melbourne, has a branch of every denomination of tribal religion and one can imagine, one by one, they get to broadcast a Sunday sermon on the Sunday morning religious program which is encased in a jukebox of favorite hymns. Despite our multi-cultural country, a December sermon equated the Chaldeans to the Muslim community and stated they were all destined for hell. Babylon was described as still existing in southern Iraq and getting ready to overrun the earth. My knowledge of Habakkuk is restricted to the Chorus that comes from chapter 3, verse 17. I have not seen any comments from you about the Minor Prophets, in particular Habakkuk but I would like you to - if you run out of questions, all of which I enjoy reading. I am looking forward to a hymnal that uses the favorite tunes with some progressive lyrics. Good health and congratulations on the way your contributions are being elaborated on while you are still with us.

 

Answer

Dear Geoff,

I have commented on Habakkuk in my series of columns that were published under the title: Re-Claiming the Bible for a Non-Religious World, but it was very brief. Habakkuk is one of the Minor Prophets that I judged to be unworthy of much attention. In that same category I put Nahum, Zephaniah, Haggai and Obadiah. All of these books came out of the postexilic period of Jewish history between 500-350 BCE when the Jewish nation was weak and not established and was beset by marauding, nomadic bands on a daily basis. These books are little more than rants at the fate of the Jews or pleas to God to intervene on their behalf. That being said, however, what you describe as the content of the sermon in Portland is little more than massively uninformed ignorance. If we take the Bible literally, Abraham and Sarah were Chaldeans since their town of origin was Ur of the Chaldees. Islam is a religion that developed in the 7th century CE, but it comes out of the same Middle East that produced both the Jews and the Christians. The Bible even suggests that Abraham was the father of the Arab people through his son Ishmael, whose mother, Hagar, was an Egyptian and he was the father of the Jewish people through his son Isaac, whose mother, Sarah, was part of the nation that would become the Jewish people and nation. The name Israel is the name given to Jacob after he wrestled with an angel and the name “Jew” comes from Judah who was the son of Jacob.

One cannot keep well-meaning but uneducated people from saying anything they want about the Bible on the airways, but the vast majority of people recognize ignorance and prejudice for what it is. Dumping tribal hostility into the bloodstream of Australia or any nation is not positive so a letter of protest to the station might be in order. Otherwise ignore it or turn it off. That is what most listeners will do.

 

My best,

John Shelby Spong

 

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