December 28, 2011

• Buddhism vs Christianity, Ruth/Boaz, "Human Zoos"

  Three topics for tonight: (1) Buddhism vs Christianity, (2) Ruth/Boaz, and (3) "Human zoos" exhibit.

   

   

  1. Buddhism vs Christianity:  (if I am mischaracterizing anything, please let me know!)

  - Buddhism is a philosophical system, so its success is unaffected by the historical genesis of the movement.  Christianity is just the opposite: it is based in the historical life, teachings, claims, death, and resurrection of its central figure, Jesus Christ.  If  the alleged historical facts surrounding Jesus are false, then Christianity crumbles.  But if the facts are true, then Christianity completely destroys the Buddhist philosophical worldview... not because Buddhism/Buddhists are stupid (in fact they are often very intelligent), but because they are misinformed... they do not have the crucial historical information which, if only they knew it, demonstrates their beliefs to be false.

  - Buddhism teaches that everything is linked in a cause-and-effect/karmic relationship, meaning that there is no separate "God" "out there" who created the Universe, rather, everything proceeds like clockwork.  Further, Buddhism says that DESIRE is the source of all unrest and striving... and that if only people could REALIZE (get 'enlightened') this 'truth' (that the fully-causally-connected universe is all that there is), they would begin to relax and stop craving and acquire inner peace.  Meditation/etc (and the other various 'steps'), says Buddhism, are the path toward that peace.  Eventually, after several reincarnations, one can achieve total 'oneness' with the universe and dissolution of (the illusion of) self, achieving complete peace/harmony.

  - Buddhism is PARTIALLY RIGHT according to the Bible, in that "lust" (literally "over-desire", craving) is the source of much discord.  Notice these Bible texts:
  James 4:1-2 "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask."

  Up to that last sentence, a Buddhist could agree.  But that last sentence???   "Ask" WHO? 
  A Buddhist would say, faced with need or sorrow, "I just need to understand that there is no ultimate good or evil; it's all merely an illusion; it's all merely a cause-and-effect mechanistic universe",... not, as the Bible recommends, "I just need to ask God for His help".

  2 Peter 1:2-4
  "Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."

  A Buddhist could agree on that last phrase, that lust causes corruption, but would immediately disagree on the best way to remedy the situation.  The Bible clearly states that it is the "TRUE" "knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord" which sets one free from lust and corruption.  Ultimate reality is not a cold impersonal clockwork cause-and-effect universe, but a living, loving, wise, omnipotent, (tri-)personal, God, who has created the universe and us, and who offers us eternal happiness with him.

  1 Peter 1:13b
  "...fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
  Psalm 37:4
  "Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart."

  Unlike Buddhism, which recommends ceasing from all desire, Christianity recommends DESIRING GOD with all one's heart.   Christianity / the Bible says that DESIRING GOD is the best way to become truly happy... because only God can truly satisfy the human heart.

  So it is established that Buddhism and Christianity are "different" and cannot possibly both be true.  But is it possible to know whether one or the other is "correct"?

  A Buddhist or Hindu might say (and I have heard them say), "there are so many religions and philosophies out there... how do you know what's right?"  or  "..there is no way to know which one of them is correct."   From their perspective, that makes sense, because it's all philosophy-based, and although one can say "I like this philosophy better than that philosophy", there's no objectively 'true', cross-personal, philosophy which is demonstrably better than all others.

  But Christianity is true, and Buddhism and Hinduism are false... and demonstrably so!  ...not because the philosophies of Christianity are better than the philosophies of Buddhism or Hinduism... not because Christians are nicer or smarter people than Buddhists or Hindus...   simply because of the historical revelation of God (the one, true, Creator God) (the God of the Bible), primarily in Jesus Christ.  God came down to earth (celebrated at Christmas), walked around, taught, lived, died, and rose again... and it is because of that historical fact that we can know that the pantheistic/atheistic philosophies such as Buddhism are false...

   

   

   

  2. I recently re-read the book of Ruth, and as always it was delightful.  Here are some thoughts about Boaz (etc), one of the main characters.

  Notice, as you read the excerpt below, Boaz's generosity to those who do not seem to have any claim upon it...

   Ruth 1:22 So Naomi returned, and with her Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, who returned from the land of Moab. And they came to Bethlehem at the beginning of barley harvest.
   2:1 Now Naomi had a kinsman of her husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech, whose name was Boaz. 2 And Ruth the Moabitess said to Naomi, "Please let me go to the field and glean among the ears of grain after one in whose sight I may find favor." And she said to her, "Go, my daughter." 3 So she departed and went and gleaned in the field after the reapers; and she happened to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem and said to the reapers, "May the LORD be with you." And they said to him, "May the LORD bless you." 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 6 The servant in charge of the reapers replied, "She is the young Moabite woman who returned with Naomi from the land of Moab. 7 And she said, ‘Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.’ Thus she came and has remained from the morning until now; she has been sitting in the house for a little while."
   8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "Listen carefully, my daughter. Do not go to glean in another field; furthermore, do not go on from this one, but stay here with my maids. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them. Indeed, I have commanded the servants not to touch you. When you are thirsty, go to the water jars and drink from what the servants draw." 10 Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, "Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?" 11 Boaz replied to her, "All that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me, and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. 12 May the LORD reward your work, and your wages be full from the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge." 13 Then she said, "I have found favor in your sight, my lord, for you have comforted me and indeed have spoken kindly to your maidservant, though I am not like one of your maidservants."

  Some thoughts / discussion questions - 
  - Do you think Boaz's generosity was to all "outsiders", or only to Ruth?  (more on this soon)
  - Notice that "she HAPPENED to come to the portion of the field belonging to Boaz"...  Cf. Romans 8:28, nothing happens by chance... especially to those who are seeking God...
  - Notice Ruth's apparent very high reputation ("has been fully reported to me...") (cf. 3:11 "all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence"), even as a Moabitess (an 'outsider', a 'heathen' by birth/culture, one who would normally be disdained within Israel's culture)... 
  - Notice in v. 12, that coming to live within Israel was roughly equivalent to believing in the LORD (the God of the Israelites) as the true God / the most powerful God.  In Ruth's case this was especially true because she specifically stated her belief in God in chapter 1, and left behind all her family and opportunity for remarriage/financial security in order to learn more about God.  Ruth's choice was the exact opposite of the choice described in Tim Keller's book "Counterfeit Gods"...  her choice was the one recommended by Otto Konig's messages about surrender... she left "everything" behind (except Naomi, but Naomi was more of a burden on Ruth than vice versa) in order to seek God.  Hence, one of the points of Ruth is that the "wages"/"refuge"/reward of the LORD is huge and well worth leaving everything behind for.
  - Ruth 1:1, 2:9, 2:22, etc - it was a dangerous time to be without a male protector in Israel.  Like today's Congo and other places.  Ruth chose this life voluntarily to follow God and help Naomi, instead of moving back in with her father like her sister did.
  - Regarding gleaning - there was no "welfare" system back then... instead, there was something better: God's law instructed that landowner farmers were to leave the corners of their sown fields for the poor to harvest.  In this way the problem of poverty was addressed, and also the problem of indigence (the poor had to work for their food too... it was not simply given to them).  In this case Ruth worked all day.
  - But the landowners obviously had quite a bit of leeway in how they implemented God's command.  In this case Boaz went out of his way... see verse 16 below...

  Ruth 2:14 At mealtime Boaz said to her, "Come here, that you may eat of the bread and dip your piece of bread in the vinegar." So she sat beside the reapers; and he served her roasted grain, and she ate and was satisfied and had some left. 15 When she rose to glean, Boaz commanded his servants, saying, "Let her glean even among the sheaves, and do not insult her. 16 Also you shall purposely pull out for her some grain from the bundles and leave it that she may glean, and do not rebuke her."

   17 So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. 18 She took it up and went into the city, and her mother-in-law saw what she had gleaned. She also took it out and gave Naomi what she had left after she was satisfied. 19 Her mother-in-law then said to her, "Where did you glean today and where did you work? May he who took notice of you be blessed."

  - 22 liters of barley grain in one day...
  - Boaz apparently had a similar heart as Job, as follows:

          29:11 For when the ear heard, it called me blessed,
          And when the eye saw, it gave witness of me,
          12 Because I delivered the poor who cried for help,
          And the orphan who had no helper.
          13 The blessing of the one ready to perish came upon me,
          And I made the widows heart sing for joy.
          14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
          My justice was like a robe and a turban.
          15 I was eyes to the blind
          And feet to the lame.
          16 I was a father to the needy,
          And I investigated the case which I did not know.
          17 I broke the jaws of the wicked
          And snatched the prey from his teeth.
         
          30:25 Have I not wept for the one whose life is hard?
          Was not my soul grieved for the needy?
         
          31: 16 If I have kept the poor from their desire,
          Or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
          17 Or have eaten my morsel alone,
          And the orphan has not shared it
          18 (But from my youth he grew up with me as with a father,
          And from infancy I guided her),
          19 If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
          Or that the needy had no covering,
          20 If his loins have not thanked me,
          And if he has not been warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
          21 If I have lifted up my hand against the orphan,
          Because I saw I had support in the gate,
          22 Let my shoulder fall from the socket,
          And my arm be broken off at the elbow.
          23 For calamity from God is a terror to me,
          And because of His majesty I can do nothing.
         
          31:32 The alien has not lodged outside,
          For I have opened my doors to the traveler.

  Back to Ruth: 2:19: So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked and said, "The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz." 20 Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, "May he be blessed of the LORD who has not withdrawn his kindness to the living and to the dead." Again Naomi said to her, "The man is our relative, he is one of our closest relatives." 21 Then Ruth the Moabitess said, "Furthermore, he said to me, ‘You should stay close to my servants until they have finished all my harvest.’" 22 Naomi said to Ruth her daughter-in-law, "It is good, my daughter, that you go out with his maids, so that others do not fall upon you in another field." 23 So she stayed close by the maids of Boaz in order to glean until the end of the barley harvest and the wheat harvest. And she lived with her mother-in-law.
  Ruth 3:1 Then Naomi her mother-in-law said to her, "My daughter, shall I not seek security for you, that it may be well with you? 2 Now is not Boaz our kinsman, with whose maids you were? Behold, he winnows barley at the threshing floor tonight. 3 Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself and put on your best clothes, and go down to the threshing floor; but do not make yourself known to the man until he has finished eating and drinking. 4 It shall be when he lies down, that you shall notice the place where he lies, and you shall go and uncover his feet and lie down; then he will tell you what you shall do." 5 She said to her, "All that you say I will do."
   6 So she went down to the threshing floor and did according to all that her mother-in-law had commanded her. 7 When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his heart was merry, he went to lie down at the end of the heap of grain; and she came secretly, and uncovered his feet and lay down. 8 It happened in the middle of the night that the man was startled and bent forward; and behold, a woman was lying at his feet. 9 He said, "Who are you?" And she answered, "I am Ruth your maid. So spread your covering over your maid, for you are a close relative." 10 Then he said, "May you be blessed of the LORD, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich. 11 Now, my daughter, do not fear. I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city know that you are a woman of excellence. 12 Now it is true I am a close relative; however, there is a relative closer than I. 13 Remain this night, and when morning comes, if he will redeem you, good; let him redeem you. But if he does not wish to redeem you, then I will redeem you, as the LORD lives. Lie down until morning."

  - Ruth was apparently very submissive or obedient (to Naomi)
  - The custom described in 3:4-13, of levirate marriage, is another good invention (sanctioned by God in the Mosaic Law) for how that particular theocratic agrarian society could cope with the death of a husband (primary breadwinner in the agrarian culture)
  - Yet, Boaz could have said 'No'...  as did the un-named "closer-relative"...  Why did Boaz not worry about "jeopardizing his sons' inheritance"? (4:6 below)  Was Boaz unmarried?  The text neither confirms nor denies this...?
  - Boaz, in saying yes, is promising far more than grain or financial assistance to Ruth...  He is promising himself... everything he owns...
  - Yet it was Naomi who initiated this!  Not Ruth, and not even Boaz...
  - What in the world does Boaz mean by "You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first"???   What was the first "kindness"-- Ruth's decision to glean in Boaz's field???  Apparently so.  This reveals the almost rediculously generous and humble heart of Boaz...  (The beggar decides to accept aid from him --> "Wow, you (beggar) are so kind to have done so!")...  or perhaps, revealing a shy love for Ruth?  A secret hope that she (probably between 15-20 years old) might ask Boaz to redeem her instead of the closer relative or instead of getting married to some young guy?  "You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether poor or rich."

  3:14 So she lay at his feet until morning and rose before one could recognize another; and he said, "Let it not be known that the woman came to the threshing floor." 15 Again he said, "Give me the cloak that is on you and hold it." So she held it, and he measured six measures of barley and laid it on her. Then she went into the city. 16 When she came to her mother-in-law, she said, "How did it go, my daughter?" And she told her all that the man had done for her. 17 She said, "These six measures of barley he gave to me, for he said, ‘Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed.’" 18 Then she said, "Wait, my daughter, until you know how the matter turns out; for the man will not rest until he has settled it today."

  - Boaz apparently never let an opportunity pass, to give generously to someone in need!  "Do not go to your mother-in-law empty-handed" --> "six measures of barley"...!!   Was this how he treated every needy person?  Or was there already a special dose of generosity in his heart toward Ruth?

  Ruth 4:9 Then Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses today that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech and all that belonged to Chilion and Mahlon. 10 Moreover, I have acquired Ruth the Moabitess, the widow of Mahlon, to be my wife in order to raise up the name of the deceased on his inheritance, so that the name of the deceased will not be cut off from his brothers or from the court of his birth place; you are witnesses today." 11 All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem. 12 Moreover, may your house be like the house of Perez whom Tamar bore to Judah, through the offspring which the LORD will give you by this young woman."
   13 So Boaz took Ruth, and she became his wife, and he went in to her. And the LORD enabled her to conceive, and she gave birth to a son. 14 Then the women said to Naomi, "Blessed is the LORD who has not left you without a redeemer today, and may his name become famous in Israel. 15 May he also be to you a restorer of life and a sustainer of your old age; for your daughter-in-law, who loves you and is better to you than seven sons, has given birth to him."
   16 Then Naomi took the child and laid him in her lap, and became his nurse. 17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, "A son has been born to Naomi!" So they named him Obed. He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
   18 Now these are the generations of Perez: to Perez was born Hezron, 19 and to Hezron was born Ram, and to Ram, Amminadab, 20 and to Amminadab was born Nahshon, and to Nahshon, Salmon, 21 and to Salmon was born Boaz, and to Boaz, Obed, 22 and to Obed was born Jesse, and to Jesse, David.

  - Many scholars think that the book of Ruth was edited into its final form during the reign of King David, putting down in writing the family history of the great king.  Matthew brings out the fact in his genealogy (Matthew 1) that at least 4 of the women in King Jesus' genealogy came from "dubious" backgrounds, and Ruth as a foreigner fits the pattern.  But she was a godly foreigner, who sought the God of Israel.
  - Matthew also makes known that Boaz's mother was Rahab, the prostitute from Jericho!   Perhaps this was an unusual family heritage for Boaz?  Did he have a normal childhood, or was he disdained by his peers?  More speculation: was Salmon one of the two spies who entered Jericho and first met Rahab?  What would it be like to have a top-ranked soldier/intelligence officer as a father?   Did Boaz know Joshua?  Did Boaz serve in the army during the actual Canaanite conquest?  Interesting, that Boaz's mother AND wife were both non-Israelites who 'converted' / sought out the God of Israel (while many of Boaz' peers were converting in the other direction, seeking out the Caananite gods).

  - Finally, consider how Boaz's character is a 'type' or 'picture' or 'foreshadowing' of Christ... in extreme generosity, in reaching out to those 'outside' the flock of God, in becoming a 'redeemer' and supporter and husband of a 'foreigner', who had no claim or rights to God's love or the family of God (the Israelite nation, at that time).  An honorable, esteemed, man of integrity, whose name means "Strength", a "man of great wealth", willing to 'go all-in' and 'jeopardize his own inheritance'...  why?  out of pity?  out of romantic love?  out of 'agape' love?  A mixture of all of those motives?
  The analogy breaks down because Ruth was by all accounts a high quality, godly, woman.  In our case, by contrast, Jesus Christ loved us and sought us out and died for us and prepared an inheritance for us "while we were still sinners", totally undeserving of love or favor.  Christ's love is far higher, greater, better, than Boaz's.

   

  (I'm running out of time so this entry will be much shorter for now.)

  3. Regarding this article about "Human Zoos" of 150 years ago ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16295827 ), the article tries to tie it to "Christian evangelism and cultural superiority".  Ha!  What a quote.. what a misleading linkage of words.  The museum tries to tie these Zoos to "othering", a concept from literary studies in which one culture emphasizes the difference between itself and another culture. 
  However, many questions arise, like: "Does the museum consider its own perspective (and culturally-conditioned postmodern beliefs) superior to the culture of 150 years ago?  If so, on what basis?"
  If one examines the literature more closely, these zoos and the milieu of that time were based NOT on "Christian evangelism", but on Darwinism and its precursors!  On the theory of evolution.   For more details, see http://creation.com/evolutionary-racism and http://creation.com/racism-questions-and-answers .

   

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