New year, new vistas

I love the new year, a sense of looking forward to the future, a sense of putting off the old and starting the new. New visions, new plans, new situations and new possibilities.

However, in reality, one year tends to be the same as the next, but for one thing, people.

The people we meet, the new relationships we form, are wonderful in themselves; and they also become the doorway to new experiences and opportunities.

Here is a poem about a Libyan man who is changing my life:

1. 
   Sam, the quintessential genteel Libyan,
   We stand aghast at your wistful, mystic air,
   As your culinary wonders touch deep,
   Our hidden needs for the wild, and esoteric.
   
2. Words you need, but what literary masterpiece,
   Could express the exotic meridian sunrise,
   Evoked, by your swarthy, otherworldly demeanour,
   And your wondrously, unsurpassable cuisine.
   
3. Your eyes speak a plaintive song,
   Heart’s longing to run on Arabian sands,
   In a mystic quest for a soul serene,
   Wading in waters of sun-kissed lands.
   
4. You are the dawn upon the Green,
   An endless source of dreams unseen.
   A Guru that guides to obscured shores,
   And unfolds keys to forbidden shores.

It has a jokey air to it because each time I would see him I would explain to him a new English word. As I wrote this poem for his birthday I packed it with new and interesting words for his burgeoning vocabulary.

He was the Falafel chef at the stand on Gloucester Green in Oxford, which was a gathering place for many North Africans. He was happy to have me around and through him I met many friends, men from Libya and Algeria. Through these friendships I gained an insight into those fascinating cultures where Arabs meet Berbers and something exotic and otherworldly is created.

He was also my first aid in my early, halting days of learning Arabic.

He is a deep friend, for himself, but for all the doors he has opened for me, for now, but also for the future.

May your new year be blessed with many such meetings. May you be bold and allow God to lead you to the new people, scenes and places that He has planned, if you would just believe and trust His inner promptings.

Happy new year,

Jake

Who is Jesus Christ? An Islamic, Jewish and Christian Odyssey-Part 2-The Hebrew Bible

Part 2 of our discussion of Jesus Christ, on this post I will look at what the Hebrew Bible says about Jesus, and what is the wider Jewish perspective on Yeshua Mesiach, which, of course is his real name.

There are said to be over 300 Messianic prophecies in the Hebrew bible, I have seen over 200 but trust the experts as to the other 100 or so.

A Messianic prophecy, normally, is a piece of writing within a larger piece that is fulfilled in and through Yeshua's birth, life, death, resurrection or second coming. There are some wonderful prophecies and I will concentrate on some of the major ones.

Isaiah 9 6-7 says:

6For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. 7There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore the zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.

This is wonderful, a child will be born and He will be called the fullness of God. Isaiah prophecied around the fall of Jerusalem which was around 567BC. So, six hundred years before Christ there was a prophecy saying that a human would be born who would be given the names and authority of God.

The crucifixion of Christ is prophecied by Isaiah, also. Towards the end of his 52nd chapter and throughout the 53rd we read this remarkable prophecy:

1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. 5But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. 6All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. 7He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. 8By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? 9His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. 10But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,

Again, a prophecy nearly 600 years before Jesus which prophecied the reason for and events surrounding his crucifixion.

Lots more I can say but I will leave that to my next post as this one has taken me so long!!!!

Who is Jesus Christ? A Scriptural Odyssey Part 1-The Koran

Firstly, my apologies to any Muslims if I in any way misuse their holy book. I am attempting to present an objective view of what the Koran says about Jesus Christ. However, I realise that I am not particularly objective about this subject, so, my apologies, in advance.

We will start in the book of Imran which has a lot to say about Mary and Jesus (or Maryam and Isa). Firstly:

إِذْ قَالَتِ الْمَلآئِكَةُ يَا مَرْيَمُ إِنَّ اللّهَ يُبَشِّرُكِ بِكَلِمَةٍ مِّنْهُ اسْمُهُ الْمَسِيحُ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ وَجِيهًا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ وَمِنَ الْمُقَرَّبِينَ {45

or in English:

[Yusufali 3:45] Behold! the angels said: "O Mary! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a Word from Him: his name will be Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, held in honour in this world and the Hereafter and of (the company of) those nearest to Allah;

This is a powerful account of the Annunciation which can be found in the Gospel of Luke and is giving honour to Isa which is beyond that given to any human being.

Secondly, we have:

وَرَسُولاً إِلَى بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ أَنِّي قَدْ جِئْتُكُم بِآيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ أَنِّي أَخْلُقُ لَكُم مِّنَ الطِّينِ كَهَيْئَةِ الطَّيْرِ فَأَنفُخُ فِيهِ فَيَكُونُ طَيْرًا بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَأُبْرِئُ الأكْمَهَ
والأَبْرَصَ وَأُحْيِـي الْمَوْتَى بِإِذْنِ اللّهِ وَأُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا تَأْكُلُونَ وَمَا تَدَّخِرُونَ فِي بُيُوتِكُمْ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
{49}
[Yusufali 3:49] "And (appoint him) a messenger to the Children of Israel, (with this message): "'I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breathe into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah's leave: And I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah's leave; and I declare to you what ye eat, and what ye store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if ye did believe;

Wow, he heals the blind and raises the dead, a truly special man. Though the Koranic Isa is very different from the Bible's idea of Jesus, the Koran says many wonderful things about him and he is greater than all the prophets before him and so, obviously more than a man.

Thirdly, we read this key passage:
إِذْ قَالَ اللّهُ يَا عِيسَى إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَيَّ وَمُطَهِّرُكَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَجَاعِلُ الَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ ثُمَّ إِلَيَّ مَرْجِعُكُمْ فَأَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ فِيمَا كُنتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ {55}

[Yusufali 3:55] Behold! Allah said: "O Jesus! I will take thee and raise thee to Myself and clear thee (of the falsehoods) of those who blaspheme; I will make those who follow thee superior to those who reject faith, to the Day of Resurrection: Then shall ye all return unto me, and I will judge between you of the matters wherein ye dispute.

This is a deeply disputed passage, it ties into the controversy of what happened to Isa in those final hours around his real or apparent crucifixion. The word translated, I will take thee and raise thee to myself, is the Arabic word Mutawafiika, a word that gives the sense of completing a time. Mutawafiika, is a severely disputed word, if it carries the sense of causing to die then it would flatly contradict another Koranic passage that we will turn to soon.

I can read the Koran in Arabic but I am not an Arabic scholar so I cannot comment on this and it is for Muslims, themselves, to draw conclusions from what they read in their holy book.

Also note that it is saying that those who follow him will be raised up on the Day of Resurrection. Obviously, he is very important as a Prophet but I would say that this suggests that he is more than a Prophet and, in balance, these passages, though not suggesting that he is God, in human form, are suggesting that Isa is more than human and worthy of following and investigating.

Lastly, I will look at Surah An-Nisaa 157, another account of the, seeming, crucifixion:

وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُواْ فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلاَّ اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا {157

[Yusufali 4:157] That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-

158 and 159 are also very interesting passages but it is from 157 that the whole story developed of how Judas was made to look like Isa, by the power of Allah and was crucified in his place.

It doesn't seem totally clear to me which is strange as it is a very key incident, but, as I say it is not for me to comment.

So, I hope I have done justice to some of what the Koran says about Jesus. There are other bits that state what he isn't, ie: not the son of God. However, Jesus is obviously greatly revered, raised the dead, was born of a virgin. Moreover, he is the word and spirit of God, his followers will be lifted up on the day of resurrection, and he is greatly honoured in this world and the next.

On the next part of this three part post, I will talk about what the Jewish Old Testament says about Jesus.

Bethlehem

Bethlehem is in my prayers at the moment as two friends of mine are staying there, here is a poem I wrote inspired by the incident when a number of Arab gunmen were held up in the Church of the Holy nativity:

Bethlehem

O Little town of Bethlehem,
How still we think you lie,
Maker of peace, you came to live,
But now your children die.

In the dark streets are sounding,
Gunfire and cries of woe,
Gone, the sounds of mercy,
Hatred’s seeds they sow.

Arab children crying,
Their father’s gun hands quiver,
Fierce soldiers praying to their God,
Can He still deliver?

Jehovah, Allah, Jesus Christ,
Three corners in the fight,
Hopes and fears and children’s tears,
Flow in you, tonight.

Ibn Arabi-Many Routes up the Same Mountain?

The question today, do all roads lead to God?

Here is a poem by the great Andalucian Islamic Mystic Ibn Arabi

Wonder

Wonder,
A garden among the flames!
My heart can take on any form:
A meadow for gazelles,
A cloister for monks,

For the idols, sacred ground,
Ka'ba for the circling pilgrim,
The tables of the Torah,
The scrolls of the Quran.

My creed is Love;
Wherever its caravan turns along the way,
That is my belief,
My faith.

- Ibn Arabi

This is, obviously not Orthodox Islam but Ibn Arabi is greatly revered as a Muslim writer and thinker. The sense of this poem is of a force, God, who is revealing himself through many sacred experiences.

This is the idea that underpins much of modern, inclusive "spirituality". Everyone who seeks God is ultimately communing with him. He has expressed himself through many different religious systems throughout the world and the differences in revelation are merely linguistic and cultural. This is backed up with a strong sense of the rights of humanity, especially the individual human's right to express his communion with God in whatever way he sees fit.

I, however, have many problems with this seemingly, "common sense" Philosophy.

This is a big question, so let us keep it within small parameters. Lets assume that the truth lies in either the Bible or the Koran. IE: in one of the three related Monotheistic religions, Christianity, Islam or Judaism.

After that nifty move that effectively silences over 1/3rd of humanity, let us further cut down our parametres and look at probably the key issue that divides these three faiths. Let us look at who is Jesus of Nazareth and what happened (or didn't happen) on the cross outside Jerusalem around 2000 years ago.

Putting it simply, Christians believe that he was God the Son in human form as well as being the Jewish Messiah and that he was crucified for the sins of mankind, died and rose again on the third day. Muslims believe that he was the Jewish Messiah but certainly not God the Son, was sentenced to death but Allah caused him to be changed for someone with a similar likeness and Allah caused him to be lifted to heaven. (Incidentally, this is not totally clear from the Koran as we shall see later.) Finally, Jewish people would say that he was not the Messiah, but was in fact an impostor or lunatic, was crucified but did not rise from the dead. (That is maybe a rather simplified view of Jewish teaching on the subject, feel free to comment.)

The question is, can these all be different liguistic, cultural expressions of the same, basic truth?

Simply put, they cannot be. The fact of the difference in the nature and death of Jesus are fundamental points of each faith and you could not compromise this difference in outlook without totally destroying the basis of that faith. Obviously, great visionaries like Ibn Arabi or Guru Nanak seem to be able to transcend their own cultural background and bring a synthesis of different elements, but they are, in fact, creating a new faith because they come up against things that are irreconcilable within the religions as they are.

Ok, that decided lets take a break.

Next week we will look at what are the different views of who Jesus is. We will start from the Koran, move on to the Jewish Old Testament and then finish with his own words in the New Testament.

Jake

Shepherd

Here is a poem I wrote several years ago.

It speaks of my deepest heart longings and how they are being met in Jesus:

Shepherd

Shepherd, Shepherd, soul’s delight,
Come lead me to your peace,
The restless voice of this world’s cares,
It never seems to cease.

Come grab my hand and lead me through
The questions in my head,
Make my heart at peace in You,
And leave the rest unsaid.

The human heart thirst for so much, for peace, for love, for justice, for security, for meaning, for significance etc, etc, etc.

Where is there a river that can satisfy all these thirsts?

Only in the heart of the Living God.

Expressed through Jesu's broken heart.

Me as a little boy.

Here I am as a little hippy dude.

Looking into the future with dreamy, quivering eyes.

I can understand a little of God's love as I look into this little boy's eyes.

I want to reach out to him and enfold him and protect him from all the pains and trials that will come upon him.

What would I have said to him?

Would he have listened?

I can understand God's love for this innocent child.....but for me......thats more difficult.

Why?

Day one,

With fear and trembling I start my first bit of blogging.

Why?

Two reasons if I'm honest.

I need a new means to express myself as my life is becoming a little two dimensional and over stressed.

and, secondly........

I have experiences and ideas that need to be blasted out into the what? The web, the world, more realistically, unto those who know me!!!!

Enjoy, and hopefully gain something!!!!