Christian Ethics (1829 words)

Christian Ethics
Exam 2:Lecture 1
When he went to Israel there is a building dedicated to the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah talks about universal justice, not just for the bad guys but for the good ones too.
Chapter 44 verse 6 to 20
There are multiple authors to the book of Isaiah. 8th century author are the primary author for the first 39 chapters.
The primary issue in the 6th century was a serious invasion in the northern part of Israel and the southern tribe of Judas. Isaiah is talking to Jerusalem bout what is going on in Israel. After the death of Solomon, Israel divided into the northern part and southern part of Judas and they hated one another. All of this has to do with how incredibly bad Solomon was as a king. He might have been a wish man but he taxed a lot, he expanded the borders way beyond what Israel could handle and he had a hard time with is libido.
Assyrian, which is known as modern day Iraq, the king, had all the power. The last 6 chapters were written by what they called the 3nd Isaiah. The very first sermon that Jesus preaches is from Isaiah chapter 61 found in luck chapter 4. Some people actually believe that this is proof that the 8th century prophet wrote what we believe to be written in the 6th century because at the end of the sermon he said today this scripture has been fulfilled to your hearing. What the author of Isaiah said in chapter 61 is a continuation of what the first Isaiah said, telling me that the book of Isaiah is a living tradition because it is the same theological message because it continues throughout the century. The 6th century prophet wrote 40 to 66th chapter. If this was true, why did the 40 to 66 chapters also called Isaiah? We are going to see similar things from the first and second Isaiah. We are going to see issues in which the first Isaiah would go back to the second Isaiah to explain issues that were in the 6th century. What we see is what scholar called an Isaiahic tradition. Whoever write the last 26th chapters identified with the great blessing, messages and teaching and truth of the 8th century prophet Isaiah. So the message of the 8th century is continued into the 6th century, even though it is a different time, the author is preaching the same message.
Isaiah chapter 36
What happened at this time is that the king of Assyrian was invading everything in Israel. The king of Israel wanted to make a peace trinity between with the Assyrian and Isaiah comes to him and tells not to do. He listened to him and those not make the trinity. While the Assyrian army camps outside, the spirit of the lord comes and kill all their army, because he waited on the lord, the lord help him by killing the Assyrian army.
Verse 32: God used Isaiah to say don’t I would take care of this. As the king of Assyrian was worshiping in his temple, his son’s kill him because they believed it was shameful that they lost the battle. Tell us that we must truth the lord because he would bring us justice.

The two great leaving or exoduses in biblical history are:
Abraham when God tells him to leave Mesopotamia
Abraham and his family are told to leave Mesopotamia. Abraham was a righteous and wealth man and with no reason, a voice speaks to him and gives a promise. That promise was he would be might and have great decedents and Abraham would be the blessing of the world and the father of all nations. Not will he only start a race of people but someone within that race would be the blessing of the world. In Mesopotamia or Assyrian the dominant Gods were Ishtar/Baal. Ishtar was female god of fertility. But in Mesopotamia, it was mainly for the king. Ishtar/Baal blessed the king to be fertile, to have a son to continue to the (kingship) empire and his rule. The god Ishtar was a war god and the god sanctioned war. Here there was a political religion that had formed to support the empire.
When Abraham left, he did not only leave his culture, he also left his religion.

Abraham had to leave this concept because religion was never to serve politic. As Isaiah put’s it, ultimately all kings and nations are held accountable for the universal justice of God.
Moses leaving Egypt
The two great things that Moses went toe to toe with are:
Pharaoh
God. He saw God and he also questioned him. God tells mouse that he was going to kill them all because they were worshipping an idol instead of him because of their ungrateful ways and attitude. Moose than tells God that if he did that, the Egyptian would think they won. God than agreed but than says he would not allow them into the promise land. In order to protect man’s honor, he challenged God.
A similar situation is seen in Egypt. The Chief deity the sun god is called Ra. Ra is found in the pharaoh, that is why the pharaoh is worshiped. A second deity that is found in the Egyptian theology is called Horus. He is the god of war and just like Mesopotamia; the god of war sanctions the war of the pharaoh. Religion and politics than become in-seperatable. Everything in society than serves the king and the aim of the empire. Whenever the pharaoh died, they immediately killed all his wives, the priest, the servants and finally the slaves because they believed he goes onto the other world and he would need all those these things.
What you have here between these two countries is that the king detects what is right or wrong and also what is a religion. Isaiah stresses this time and time again when Israel is asked to leave Mesopotamia and Egypt it is not just geography but it is also culture. The culture is to leave a political religion where the ruling class dominant the lower class and benefits from their suffering. There is only one God that and that God is Yahweh, who is righteousness and justice.
By leaving, they leave their culture and their religion.

When does redemption occurs? When do you know when God is saving you?
Where
Activity
Ethic
Result
History: we need a better government and better law. That is exactly what ramces says.
The first world war was the war to end all war. The people of Europe lost a lot of people
Repetition
Domination. You need a dominant ruler but the dominant ruler would repeat the mistake of the past. This leads to despair.

Despair
Supernatural
Resignation. Don’t need to change the world. You just need to leave the world.
Endurance
Defeat
Eschatological: meaning the end of time. This is what Isaiah believed in. He was not supernatural about how redemption would be brought to the world but he was eschatological
Divine intervention in history.

God not a ruler would bring redemption by intervening in history and that the people would see it.
Messianic: when the redeme come from the future to come and bring justice to the world. The result of this is hope, courage and justice.
Hope, courage, justice
Messianic ethics or traditions: Messianic: when the reedman come from the future to come and bring justice to the world. The result of this is hope, courage and justice.

You can think of the end of time in two different ways.
How to interrupt history/ destinies of nations? Ways on looking at history
Comedy
From bad things good can come out of it. Whatever good comes from it, it comes accidentally. Even bad people can experience some good things. Whatever good comes is strictly by accident. Many people interpret history comedically.

Tragedy
Is when bad happens to good. The mess is so profound that it is just going to get worst. You can work as hard as you can, be as good as you want to, have the greatest intention in the world but history is just going to get worst. Some people might look at history this way because you are repeating the same thing over and over again
Irony
This is how Isaiah looks at history because he was able to see two things at the same time. He sees history but he also see the law of history working within it but nobody can understand because they are concern about their own form of justice. This is what we called irony. We should look at history ironically because at the end they would be another set of rules. Irony is when truth and meaning are opposite of what it is intended to be.
During the time of Jesus, there were coins that said hail Caesar. Jesus said this was wrong because this was one of the things that Abraham left behind.
Blaspheng= to plead confusion/ignorance
What is the hardening principle?
Isaiah is supposed to preach to them so that they don’t understand. The end result of the hardening principle is utter destruction to the world. There is no hope and there is no solution within history. They should rely on God and God alone, no change in political system would help them. It would lead to nothing but ultimate destruction. The solution has to be as profound as the problem. What Isaiah is going to depict is that the problem runs all the way down, we that problem is within us.
Chapter 44: the people are criticizing God for being absent and not responding to them. The cause of their problem is their sins but God is going to come and redeem them regardless of their sins. This is during the 6th century.
Chapter 44
1-5
God’s election and Israel
6-8
The titles for God
There is no god they are making it up for example when the pharaoh has Ra and other gods that are there. There is not god that supports those things. There is no god that supports evil.
9-20
Idols and God
Adonai
El-shaddai
Elohim
All of these mean God.
Pay attention to what these idol makers do because we are worship what is left over of our culture. Example, a carpenter would use a wood and make a chair and use the left over to construct an idol. Idols are made of what is left over from genuine productivity. All who makes idols are nothing used to describe those who made idols. The word Tohu, which means nothing, which describes what an idol maker is. Before there was creation there was destruction. Idol makers are trying to bring us back to the original destruction of the world. Idols makers do nothing but create destruction.

Shad describe the shape.
The shape can refer to two things, the hill or the breast. The god of the breast, god is nurturing.