all matter, and all makers, came to BE,
is Lord of hea'en and earth and all that's curled
within, without, and roundabout, all sea,
and sky, and space and time, and meaning too.
They've all come from someone - and life and breath,
He doesn't need a thing that we can do,
or what we bring on here ourselves, like death.
His home or place to live is not man-made,
it's right the other way about you see.
Our home or place to live is in his shade,
close to him, like a chick with hen would be.
He's made a world that's wonderful and raw,
with ocean depths, volcanoes, and big suns,
with scary things like viruses, before
you know it in his story there are runs
of high adventure, mys-ter-y, sci-fi,
with scary things like viruses, before
you know it in his story there are runs
of high adventure, mys-ter-y, sci-fi,
and magic pow'r within atomic shells.
God truly doesn't need us to supply
him with some fibro, or plastic to sell.
God truly doesn't need us to supply
him with some fibro, or plastic to sell.
Sometimes we get transactional mindsets
that shrink the magic of relationships
into a business contract, and God lets
us do it. We must learn and make some slips
from trial and error. And we could spend time
to listen to his still, small, voice of love.
We cannot be transcendent over rime
that shrink the magic of relationships
into a business contract, and God lets
us do it. We must learn and make some slips
from trial and error. And we could spend time
to listen to his still, small, voice of love.
We cannot be transcendent over rime
and reason, though at times we've tried to shove
each other and our maker with these tools
and make for him our trinkets so he'll be
each other and our maker with these tools
and make for him our trinkets so he'll be
indebted to our systems and our rules
& caught by our own ingenuity.
God doesn't live in temples made by hands.
Nor does he need a thing we can supply.
& caught by our own ingenuity.
God doesn't live in temples made by hands.
Nor does he need a thing we can supply.
He only loves us. Can you understand?
He knows and loves much more than you and I.
And God, as self, gives life and breath to all,
and everything of substance which matters,
He knows and loves much more than you and I.
And God, as self, gives life and breath to all,
and everything of substance which matters,
but also sources friendship that's faithful,
and fairness/justice, with stuff that shatters
indiff-er-ence and hate that sure exist
within our human life. He cultured then
and fairness/justice, with stuff that shatters
indiff-er-ence and hate that sure exist
within our human life. He cultured then
the racial diff'rences and made his list
of peoples with our cultures, and made them
to live throughout the whole earth. He himself
of peoples with our cultures, and made them
to live throughout the whole earth. He himself
has fixed the limits of both time and place,
where they would live, and guided them to health.
He did this so that they would look for grace
and help with all these opportunities.
And in our times of need he hopes we'll look
and help with all these opportunities.
And in our times of need he hopes we'll look
for him, perhaps to find him (very pleased)
as we felt 'round for him. God is our chook!
Yes, God is never far away from one.
And, God is never far away from each,
as we felt 'round for him. God is our chook!
Yes, God is never far away from one.
And, God is never far away from each,
from any one of us, we're like a son,
or daughter, who may (ought'a?) let God teach...
or daughter, who may (ought'a?) let God teach...
that's any one of us; as poets said,
‘It is in him we live and move and be’...
‘his own offspring we are, from toe to head.’
‘It is in him we live and move and be’...
‘his own offspring we are, from toe to head.’
Since we are God's own children, we should see
& not suppose that he is made like us.
His nature isn't made by jig 'n dance,
or shaped by human art or skill and fuss.
God's overlooked our times of ignorance
and now says that it's time to grow on up!
For he commands all people everywhere
to turn away from our self-centred stuff
For he has fixed a time and place, that pair
so needful for our stories on this Earth,
when we will be lined up against "Adarm -
our last", and too "archetypal", with "new birth",
he's quite concerned that justice, and no harm
be perpetrated in his name, or else...
(And then he is quite graphic about hell's
existence for religious folk, he spells
it out with all it's suffering levels!)
But God has chosen this man by his life -
'ts "style" & "kindness" much more than most folk,
with wisdom of the village kind that's rife
in territ-or-ies occupied. A bloke
who's like they say, "a good man". And you know
that ultimately "they can't be kept down".
His life that God raised up, is for to show
that he's who God is pleased with. Judge, or clown?
Look at the precursors of Paul’s speech, and what Paul, saw, and felt, and did as a result. And then at the topics spoken of and the authorities quoted and made explicit mention of as well as the way he uses the Jewish scriptures that he has spent his life studying. Note Paul’s default and the ways it could be mis-interpretted, and what happened when it was, and the results of this. Learn from Jesus’ apostle to the Gentiles*: Acts 17:16-31
& not suppose that he is made like us.
His nature isn't made by jig 'n dance,
or shaped by human art or skill and fuss.
God's overlooked our times of ignorance
and now says that it's time to grow on up!
For he commands all people everywhere
to turn away from our self-centred stuff
For he has fixed a time and place, that pair
so needful for our stories on this Earth,
when we will be lined up against "Adarm -
our last", and too "archetypal", with "new birth",
he's quite concerned that justice, and no harm
be perpetrated in his name, or else...
(And then he is quite graphic about hell's
existence for religious folk, he spells
it out with all it's suffering levels!)
But God has chosen this man by his life -
'ts "style" & "kindness" much more than most folk,
with wisdom of the village kind that's rife
in territ-or-ies occupied. A bloke
who's like they say, "a good man". And you know
that ultimately "they can't be kept down".
His life that God raised up, is for to show
that he's who God is pleased with. Judge, or clown?
Look at the precursors of Paul’s speech, and what Paul, saw, and felt, and did as a result. And then at the topics spoken of and the authorities quoted and made explicit mention of as well as the way he uses the Jewish scriptures that he has spent his life studying. Note Paul’s default and the ways it could be mis-interpretted, and what happened when it was, and the results of this. Learn from Jesus’ apostle to the Gentiles*: Acts 17:16-31
18While Paul was waiting in Athens for Silas and Timothy, he was greatly upset when he noticed how full of idols the city was. 17 So he held discussions in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentiles who worshiped God, and also in the public square every day with the people who happened to come by.
18 Certain Epicurean and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?”
Others answered, “He seems to be talking about foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.[a] 19 So they took Paul, brought him before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, “We would like to know what this new teaching is that you are talking about. 20 Some of the things we hear you say sound strange to us, and we would like to know what they mean.” (21 For all the citizens of Athens and the foreigners who lived there liked to spend all their time telling and hearing the latest new thing.)
22 Paul stood up in front of the city council and said, “I see that in every way you Athenians are very religious. 23 For as I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, ‘To an Unknown God.’ That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you.
18 Certain Epicurean and Stoic teachers also debated with him. Some of them asked, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?”
Others answered, “He seems to be talking about foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching about Jesus and the resurrection.[a] 19 So they took Paul, brought him before the city council, the Areopagus, and said, “We would like to know what this new teaching is that you are talking about. 20 Some of the things we hear you say sound strange to us, and we would like to know what they mean.” (21 For all the citizens of Athens and the foreigners who lived there liked to spend all their time telling and hearing the latest new thing.)
22 Paul stood up in front of the city council and said, “I see that in every way you Athenians are very religious. 23 For as I walked through your city and looked at the places where you worship, I found an altar on which is written, ‘To an Unknown God.’ That which you worship, then, even though you do not know it, is what I now proclaim to you.
24God, who made the world and everything in it, is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands. Nor does he need anything that we can supply by working for him, since it is he himself who gives life and breath and everything else to everyone. From one human being he created all races of people and made them live throughout the whole earth. He himself fixed beforehand the exact times and the limits of the places where they would live. He did this so that they would look for him, and perhaps find him as they felt around for him. Yet God is actually not far from any one of us; as someone has said, ‘In him we live and move and exist.’ It is as some of your poets have said, ‘We too are his children.’ Since we are God's children, we should not suppose that his nature is anything like an image of gold or silver or stone, shaped by human art and skill. God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways. For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!” Acts 17:16-31 GNTD
5b...the Day when God's anger and righteous judgments will be revealed. 6 For God will reward each of us according to what we have done. Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life. Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury. There will be suffering and pain for all those who do what is evil, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles*. But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles*. For God judges everyone by the same standard.” Romans 2:6-11 GNTD
* Gentiles are non-Jewish people, as defined by the mindset that sees Jewish people as the chosen people of God. This (above passage) is addressing a specific historical situation, but an equivalent reading of it for our day and age (in my estimation) is the read "people who have been churched" instead of "Jews"; and "unchurched people" for "Gentiles". Try reading it with this exchange, and see if you think Paul might mean that for today?
Acts 17:16-31 NA28 16Ἐν δὲ ταῖς Ἀθήναις ἐκδεχομένου αὐτοὺς τοῦ Παύλου παρωξύνετο τὸ πνεῦμα αὐτοῦ ἐν αὐτῷ θεωροῦντος κατείδωλον οὖσαν τὴν πόλιν. 17διελέγετο μὲν οὖν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις καὶ τοῖς σεβομένοις καὶ ἐν τῇ ἀγορᾷ κατὰ πᾶσαν ἡμέραν πρὸς τοὺς παρατυγχάνοντας. 18τινὲς δὲ καὶ τῶν Ἐπικουρείων καὶ Στοϊκῶν φιλοσόφων συνέβαλλον αὐτῷ, καί τινες ἔλεγον· τί ἂν θέλοι ὁ σπερμολόγος οὗτος λέγειν; οἱ δέ· ξένων δαιμονίων δοκεῖ καταγγελεὺς εἶναι, ὅτι τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν εὐηγγελίζετο. 19ἐπιλαβόμενοί τε αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὸν Ἄρειον πάγον ἤγαγον λέγοντες· δυνάμεθα γνῶναι τίς ἡ καινὴ αὕτη ἡ ὑπὸ σοῦ λαλουμένη διδαχή; 20ξενίζοντα γάρ τινα εἰσφέρεις εἰς τὰς ἀκοὰς ἡμῶν· βουλόμεθα οὖν γνῶναι τίνα θέλει ταῦτα εἶναι. 21Ἀθηναῖοι δὲ πάντες καὶ οἱ ἐπιδημοῦντες ξένοι εἰς οὐδὲν ἕτερον ηὐκαίρουν ἢ λέγειν τι ἢ ἀκούειν τι καινότερον.
22Σταθεὶς δὲ [ὁ] Παῦλος ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ Ἀρείου πάγου ἔφη· ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, κατὰ πάντα ὡς δεισιδαιμονεστέρους ὑμᾶς θεωρῶ. 23διερχόμενος γὰρ καὶ ἀναθεωρῶν τὰ σεβάσματα ὑμῶν εὗρον καὶ βωμὸν ἐν ᾧ ἐπεγέγραπτο·
Ἀγνώστῳ θεῷ.
ὃ οὖν ἀγνοοῦντες εὐσεβεῖτε, τοῦτο ἐγὼ καταγγέλλω ὑμῖν. 24ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιήσας τὸν κόσμον καὶ πάντα τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ, οὗτος οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς ὑπάρχων κύριος οὐκ ἐν χειροποιήτοις ναοῖς κατοικεῖ 25οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων θεραπεύεται προσδεόμενός τινος, αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσιν ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν καὶ τὰ πάντα· 26ἐποίησέν τε ἐξ ἑνὸς πᾶν ἔθνος ἀνθρώπων κατοικεῖν ἐπὶ παντὸς προσώπου τῆς γῆς, ὁρίσας προστεταγμένους καιροὺς καὶ τὰς ὁροθεσίας τῆς κατοικίας αὐτῶν 27ζητεῖν τὸν θεόν, εἰ ἄρα γε ψηλαφήσειαν αὐτὸν καὶ εὕροιεν, καί γε οὐ μακρὰν ἀπὸ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου ἡμῶν ὑπάρχοντα.
ὡς καί τινες τῶν καθ’ ὑμᾶς ποιητῶν εἰρήκασιν·
τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν.
29γένος οὖν ὑπάρχοντες τοῦ θεοῦ οὐκ ὀφείλομεν νομίζειν χρυσῷ ἢ ἀργύρῳ ἢ λίθῳ, χαράγματι τέχνης καὶ ἐνθυμήσεως ἀνθρώπου, τὸ θεῖον εἶναι ὅμοιον. 30τοὺς μὲν οὖν χρόνους τῆς ἀγνοίας ὑπεριδὼν ὁ θεός, τὰ νῦν παραγγέλλει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις πάντας πανταχοῦ μετανοεῖν, 31καθότι ἔστησεν ἡμέραν ἐν ᾗ μέλλει κρίνειν τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ, ἐν ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὥρισεν, πίστιν παρασχὼν πᾶσιν ἀναστήσας αὐτὸν ἐκ νεκρῶν. 32Ἀκούσαντες δὲ ἀνάστασιν νεκρῶν οἱ μὲν ἐχλεύαζον, οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· ἀκουσόμεθά σου περὶ τούτου καὶ πάλιν. 33οὕτως ὁ Παῦλος ἐξῆλθεν ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν. 34τινὲς δὲ ἄνδρες κολληθέντες αὐτῷ ἐπίστευσαν, ἐν οἷς καὶ Διονύσιος ὁ Ἀρεοπαγίτης καὶ γυνὴ ὀνόματι Δάμαρις καὶ ἕτεροι σὺν αὐτοῖς.
- ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ·*
7τοῖς μὲν καθ’ ὑπομονὴν ἔργου ἀγαθοῦ δόξαν καὶ τιμὴν καὶ ἀφθαρσίαν ζητοῦσιν ζωὴν αἰώνιον, 8τοῖς δὲ ἐξ ἐριθείας καὶ ἀπειθοῦσιν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ πειθομένοις δὲ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ ὀργὴ καὶ θυμός. 9θλῖψις καὶ στενοχωρία ἐπὶ πᾶσαν ψυχὴν ἀνθρώπου τοῦ κατεργαζομένου τὸ κακόν, Ἰουδαίου τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνος· 10δόξα δὲ καὶ τιμὴ καὶ εἰρήνη παντὶ τῷ ἐργαζομένῳ τὸ ἀγαθόν, Ἰουδαίῳ τε πρῶτον καὶ Ἕλληνι· 11οὐ γάρ ἐστιν προσωπολημψία παρὰ τῷ θεῷ. Romans 2:5b-11 NA28
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