"Unless you become like us ... " (Acts 15)

I just finished reading Orhan Pamuk's collection of essays Other Colors. This Nobel Prize-winning novelist has quite a bit to say about a kindred spirit, Feodor Dostoevsky. Like the great 19th century Russian novelist, Pamuk lives with the frustration of being a not-quite European. This sense of rejection, Pamuk suggests, explains the angry bitterness that permeates Notes From Underground, Crime and Punishment, and The Demons. Pamuk's own masterpiece, My Name Is Red, mourns the loss of one's traditional area of artistic mastery while in pursuit of those things an alien culture celebrates.

Acts 15 begins with a conflict. Self-appointed emissaries from the Jewish heartland show up in Antakya with the message -- "Unless you become just like us, you're worthless." Let's look at the text:

Act 15:1 Yahudiye'den gelen bazı kişiler Antakya'daki kardeşlere, "Siz Musa'nın töresi uyarınca sünnet olmadıkça kurtulamazsınız" diye öğretiyorlardı.
Act 15:2 Pavlus'la Barnaba bu adamlarla bir hayli çekişip tartıştılar. Sonunda Pavlus'la Barnaba'nın, başka birkaç kardeşle birlikte Yeruşalim'e gidip bu sorunu elçiler ve ihtiyarlarla görüşmesi kararlaştırıldı.

Paul and Barnabas strenuously objected to this message that demanded cultural conformity in addition to regeneration. God Himself can't please some people, you see. A miracle of regeneration transforms someone's whole life, whole attitude -- and then, "God's little helpers" feel called upon to show up with additional demands. A new believer opens up his heart and soul to older saints, sharing of God's wonderful grace. They see the opening and jump in with their meat axes, flailing away and telling the guy who's just experienced the greatest miracle in the universe that he'll be "more saved" if he'll comply with some extra-biblical cultural mandate. Quit smoking, for example.

I can understand Paul's volcanic rage towards those who belittled God's work, and God's people from a different culture.

In the end, the joke was on the Jews. They chose their culture over their Messiah. Pulled the roof in on themselves soon thereafter, and have obdurately resisted God's mercies ever since. The future locus of Christianity moved to the non-Jewish nations. Some Jewish people have, throughout history, "gotten with the program," and become Christians. Eventually, I expect, the rest of them will "see the light."

Meanwhile, let the dead bury the dead. The living have work to do. The Gospel of the Great King can be embraced by any nation, and will transform that nation, working from the inside out. Aping a foreign culture is a recipe for failure.

"... and the madness of crowds.[0]" (Acts 14)

Ecclesiastical rivals can be persistent. Francis Asbury, the first American-born bishop of the Methodist Church, complained of the Baptists, "They follow us around like ghosts."[1] This, however, was a friendly rivalry when measured against the unremitting hostility the Jews held towards Paul's work.

Paul and Barnabas escaped Konya, barely ahead of the mobs with pitchforks and torches[2]. At Listra, their message was eagerly welcomed. Too eagerly. The villagers assumed they could fit the new thaumaturges[3] into the context of their existing paradigms. When Paul and Barnabas refused to serve as their pet deities, the mood turned surly, then ugly.

Act 14:19 Ne var ki, Antakya ve Konya'dan gelen bazı Yahudiler, halkı kendi taraflarına çekerek Pavlus'u taşladılar; onu ölmüş sanarak kentin dışına sürüklediler.
Act 14:20 Ama öğrenciler çevresinde toplanınca Pavlus ayağa kalkıp kente döndü. Ertesi gün Barnaba'yla birlikte Derbe'ye gitti.

Let's look at a few words:

• Antakya ve Konya'dan -- Antakya and Konya from
  
• gelen bazı Yahudiler -- came / some / Jews
  
• onu ölmüş sanarak kentin dışına sürüklediler -- him / dead / supposing / the city / outside / they dragged.

It's interesting how much of the İncil was written in present-day Turkey, happened in that area, and involved people from there.

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[0] Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is a classical catalog of human lunacy, as expressed in such fads as the Tulip Mania and the Children's Crusade. Click the link to get your own Project Gutenberg free copy!

[1] When the American frontier opened and land-hungry millions headed west, they left behind the Anglican, Quaker, and Presbyterian churches. The Quakers lacked ambition, and the more formal denominations had lofty standards for their ordained ministers. The Methodists amortized their preachers over lengthy "circuits." One circuit rider on horseback oversaw dozens of churches. The Baptists simply lowered their standards for ministers. Any charismatic farmer could "receive the call" to preach. And find a pulpit, if a church recognized said call.

[2] Poetic license on my parts. Every since the silent horror movies of the 1920s, it's been assumed that peasant mobs equip themselves with pitchforks and torches!

[3] A fancy word that comes into the English language directly transliterated from Greek. It means miracle workers.

What to do with the pet guru? (Acts 13)

This is a very rich chapter, with a lot going on. For example, we meet a mixed bag of leaders worshiping God, and fasting. One of them had grown up in a king's family. All we know about another, Simon, is that folks called him "the black guy." As these people are in God's presence, perhaps leading corporate and liturgical prayer, a word comes -- turn loose Saul and Barnabas for the task that's been on their minds for some time now.

The itinerary is fairly clear. "Barnabas, let's visit your home county first, then we'll visit mine." After a preaching tour that takes them the length of Copper Island,[1] they are invited to address the Roman governor of this province, a "prudent man." Let's open a window into the past, and look into this scene:

Act 13:6 Adayı baştan başa geçerek Baf'a geldiler. Orada büyücü ve sahte peygamber Baryeşu adında bir Yahudi'yle karşılaştılar.
Act 13:7,8 Baryeşu, Vali Sergius Pavlus'a yakın biriydi. Akıllı bir kişi olan vali, Barnaba'yla Saul'u çağırtıp Tanrı'nın sözünü dinlemek istedi. Ne var ki Baryeşu büyücü anlamına gelen öbür adıyla Elimas- onlara karşı koyarak valiyi iman etmekten caydırmaya çalıştı.
Act 13:9,10 Ama Kutsal Ruh'la dolan Saul, yani Pavlus, gözlerini Elimas'a dikerek, "Ey İblis'in oğlu!" dedi. "Yüreğin her türlü hile ve sahtekârlıkla dolu; doğru olan her şeyin düşmanısın. Rab'bin düz yollarını çarpıtmaktan vazgeçmeyecek misin?
Act 13:11 İşte şimdi Rab'bin eli sana karşı kalktı. Kör olacaksın, bir süre gün ışığını göremeyeceksin." O anda adamın üzerine bir sis, bir karanlık çöktü. Dört dönerek, elinden tutup kendisine yol gösterecek birilerini aramaya başladı.
Act 13:12 Olanları gören vali, Rab'le ilgili öğretiyi hayranlıkla karşıladı ve iman etti.

And, a few words are in order:

• Orada büyücü ve sahte peygamber -- At that place / a great / and / false / prophet
  
• Baryeşu adında -- bar Jesus (son of Jesus) / named
  
• bir Yahudi'yle karşılaştılar. -- a / a Jew / they encountered.
  
• "Ey İblis'in oğlu!" dedi. -- Hey / of Satan / the son! / he said.
  
• "Yüreğin her türlü hile ve sahtekârlıkla dolu; -- Your heart / all / kinds / with wickedness / and / with deception / is filled;
  
• doğru olan her şeyin düşmanısın. -- straight, honest, true / that is / every / thing / you are the enemy of.

So, how did a Jewish sorcerer end up on the staff of a Roman governor? The Romans, you remember, had conquored and occupied Israel. Well, they'd also conquored and occupied Greece -- then imported Greek culture and teachers into their world. Perhaps, this governor viewed Bar-Jesus as an exemplar of Jewish piety, a living representative of the worthy God of Israel? We have other examples of wandering Jewish wonder-workers in that era. Jesus warned that some who had no real connection to God would still work miracles in his name.

Apparently, Bar-Jesus regarded Saul, Barnabas, and the gospel they preached as threats to his sinecure.

I'm still wondering, though, how he got into that cushy position to start with. What does this tell us about the Romans, the Jews, and the complex relationships between them?

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[1] One of these days, I'll spend a summer, or part thereof, teaching there.

Automatic assistance (Acts 12)

A bitter aphorism in Israel during the first century held that "it is better to be Herod's pig than Herod's son." The two words (pig and son) look almost identical in Greek. This was not a happy family. One Herod encountered the Magi. His son confronted John the Baptist and Jesus. The grandson, James and Peter and worms. The great-grandson, so rumor has it, retired in disgrace to the peaceful Roman village of Pompey.

Today's chapter begins with another flare up of persecution. Herod was an Idumean set as a puppet ruler over the Jews. He noticed how his poll numbers went up when he arrested and executed James, and nabbed Peter in an effort to curry additional favor. Let's let the historical record speak for itself a bit:

Act 12:5 Bu nedenle Petrus hapiste tutuldu. Ama inanlılar topluluğu onun için Tanrı'ya hararetle dua ediyordu.
Act 12:6 Petrus, Hirodes'in kendisini yargılayacağı günden önceki gece, çift zincirle bağlı olarak iki askerin arasında uyuyordu. Kapıda duran nöbetçiler de zindanın güvenliğini sağlıyordu.
Act 12:7 Birdenbire Rab'bin bir meleği göründü ve hücrede bir ışık parladı. Melek, Petrus'un böğrüne dokunup onu uyandırdı. "Çabuk, kalk!" dedi. O anda zincirler Petrus'un bileklerinden düştü.
Act 12:8 Melek ona, "Kuşağını bağla, çarıklarını giy" dedi. Petrus da söyleneni yaptı. "Abanı giy, beni izle" dedi melek.
Act 12:9 Petrus onu izleyerek dışarı çıktı. Ama meleğin yaptığının gerçek olduğunu anlamıyor, bir görüm gördüğünü sanıyordu.
Act 12:10 Birinci ve ikinci nöbetçiyi geçerek kente açılan demir kapıya geldiler. Kapı, önlerinde kendiliğinden açıldı. Dışarı çıkıp bir sokak boyunca yürüdüler, sonra melek ansızın Petrus'un yanından ayrıldı.
Act 12:11 O zaman kendine gelen Petrus, "Rab'bin bana meleğini gönderdiğini şimdi gerçekten anlıyorum" dedi. "O beni Hirodes'in elinden ve Yahudi halkının uğrayacağımı umduğu bütün belalardan kurtardı."

And, a few sentences:

• Birdenbire Rab'bin bir meleği göründü ve hücrede bir ışık parladı. -- Suddenly / of the Lord / an / angel / appeared / and / in the cell / a / light / shone forth.
  
• Birinci ve ikinci nöbetçiyi geçerek kente açılan demir kapıya geldiler. -- First / and /second / watches / they pass / to the city / opening / iron / gate / was closed.
  
• Kapı, önlerinde kendiliğinden açıldı. -- The gate / that was before them / on its own / opened.
  
• melek -- angel. The k turns into the soft g if you attach a vowel to the word.
  

The gate, the final obstacle, opened by itself. The Greek word translated kendiliğinden should look familiar: αὐτομάτη . Yep -- automatic! If an angel wakes you up with good news, obstacles can melt away as you move forward. (So many of the barriers to our dreams are those we erect in our own minds.)

Transmission bands (Acts 11)

Information, like an infection, travels most easily within close, and closed, populations. This chapter begins with the believers in Jerusalem taking Peter to task, for breaking taboo, crossing the picket line, getting "too close"[1] to the folks who "aren't our kind of people." Peter silenced the naysayers with his account of how these unexpected kindred spirits had received an experience of God's gracious presence, with some kind of visible evidence.

The believers in Jerusalem grudgingly bowed to the inevitable, but kept on living in their xenophobic traditions. However, a virus that jumps species boundaries acquires a whole new level of potency. GRID[2] does little harm to simian populations, but is lethal to humans. Swine flu[3] is a nuisance to pigs, but occasionally fatal to us. It was when the non-Jewish people in Antakya began to embrace the Messiah of Israel that this erstwhile subset of Judaism became a superset thereof. And it was in Antakya that the disciples were first called Mesihçiler -- those who pertain to the Messiah. Christians.

Act 11:17 Böylelikle Tanrı, Rab İsa Mesih'e inanmış olan bizlere verdiği armağanın aynısını onlara verdiyse, ben kimim ki Tanrı'ya karşı koyayım?"
Act 11:18 Bunları dinledikten sonra yatıştılar. Tanrı'yı yücelterek şöyle dediler: "Demek ki Tanrı, tövbe etme ve yaşama kavuşma fırsatını öteki uluslara da vermiştir."
Act 11:19 İstefanos'un öldürülmesiyle başlayan baskı sonucu dağılan imanlılar, Fenike, Kıbrıs ve Antakya'ya kadar gittiler. Tanrı sözünü sadece Yahudiler'e duyuruyorlardı.
Act 11:20 Ama içlerinden Kıbrıslı ve Kireneli olan bazı adamlar Antakya'ya gidip Grekler'le* de konuşmaya başladılar. Onlara Rab İsa'yla ilgili Müjde'yi bildirdiler.
Act 11:21 Onların arasında etkin olan Rab'bin gücü sayesinde çok sayıda kişi inanıp Rab'be döndü.
Act 11:22 Olup bitenlerin haberi, Yeruşalim'deki kiliseye* ulaştı. Bunun üzerine imanlılar Barnaba'yı Antakya'ya gönderdiler.
Act 11:23,24 Kutsal Ruh'la ve imanla dolu, iyi bir adam olan Barnaba, Antakya'ya varıp Tanrı lütfunun meyvelerini görünce sevindi. Herkesi, candan ve yürekten Rab'be bağlı kalmaya özendirdi. Sonuç olarak Rab'be daha birçok kişi kazanıldı.
Act 11:25 Sonra Barnaba, Saul'u aramak için Tarsus'a gitti. Onu bulunca da Antakya'ya getirdi. Böylece Barnaba'yla Saul bir yıl boyunca oradaki inanlılar topluluğuyla* bir araya gelerek büyük bir kitleyi eğittiler. Öğrencilere ilk kez Antakya'da Mesihçiler adı verildi.

And, a few words:

• Demek ki Tanrı, -- It is plain / that / God
  
• tövbe etme ve yaşama kavuşma -- repentance / to do / and / life / to recieve
  
• fırsatını öteki uluslara da vermiştir -- opportunity / to other / nations / yet / was given.

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[1] A somewhat bitter aphorism from the Black community about life in the United States: "In the North, they don't care how high you get, as long as you don't get too close. In the South, they don't care how close you get, as long as you don't get too high."

[2] GRIDS -- "Gay-Related Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome" is almost entirely found in the sodomite community, and evidently is "acquired" by violently perverted and repeated "crimes against nature." Although political correctness had re-named this plague that boasts legal protection as AIDS, even that acronym indicates that this disease is "acquired," rather than simply caught.

[3] An American idiom for an improbably event goes -- "That will happen when pigs fly." For example, "Americans will vote a non-citizen into their highest office when pigs fly." Well, swine flu ...

A light, an angel, a pig. (Acts 10)

My wife loves detective stories. I occasionally indulge, if the story is set in an alien culture. The late Tony Hillerman used Navajo tribal lore as the framework for his novels. Harry Kellerman lets us see things from the Jewish perspective. The protagonist in Someday, the Rabbi Will Leave is a conservative, nearly orthodox, scholar who applies Talmudic reasoning to local crimes. There are not too many places where he can comfortably dine -- strictly observant Jewish families have separate utensils for milk and meat products. "The first time I saw a man in a restaurant cut his steak using the same knife he'd used to butter his bread, I nearly retched,"[1] Rabbi Small said.

Paul fell to the earth, overwhelmed by a vision of blinding light. Cornelius, a Roman officer and occupation soldier, had a vision of an angel who told him to send to Peter for advice on how to find secure favor with God. Peter's vision, however, while dramatic, and disturbing, took an earthier theme:

Act 10:10 Acıkınca da yemek istedi. Yemek hazırlanırken Petrus kendinden geçti.
Act 10:11 Göğün açıldığını ve büyük bir çarşafı andıran bir nesnenin dört köşesinden sarkıtılarak yeryüzüne indirildiğini gördü.
Act 10:12 Çarşafın içinde, yeryüzünde yaşayan her türden dört ayaklı hayvanlar, sürüngenler ve kuşlar vardı.
Act 10:13 Bir ses ona, "Kalk Petrus, kes ve ye!" dedi.
Act 10:14 "Asla olmaz, ya Rab!" dedi Petrus. "Hiçbir zaman bayağı ya da murdar* herhangi bir şey yemedim."
Act 10:15 Ses tekrar, ikinci kez duyuldu; Petrus'a, "Tanrı'nın temiz kıldıklarına sen bayağı deme" dedi.
Act 10:16 Bu, üç kez tekrarlandı. Sonra çarşafı andıran nesne hemen göğe alındı.
Act 10:17 Petrus şaşkınlık içindeydi.

And, a few words:

• Bir ses ona, -- A / voice / to him
  
• "Kalk Petrus, kes ve ye!" -- Rise / Peter / kill / and / eat. (To form the Turkish second person singular imperative, drop the -mek /-mak from the infinitive.)
  
• dedi. -- it said.
  
• "Asla olmaz, ya Rab!" dedi Petrus. -- Never / it will not happen / but / Lord! / said / Peter.
  
• "Hiçbir zaman bayağı ya da murdar herhangi bir şey yemedim." -- Not one thing / at any time / foul / and / but / corrupt / no way / one / thing / I have never eaten. (Turkish lets you go crazy with negatives!)
  

Poor Peter. How little he knew -- God was about to demand that he do something even more repulsive than chowing down on pork chops with bacon gravy.

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[1] English has a rich lexicon of synonyms and euphemisms for vomiting. This may go with having a partying subculture that glories in heavy drinking. To puke is the most common. To hurl is somewhat dated. Kneeling before the ceramic idol and (my favorite) talking on the big white telephone happen in the bathroom after a drinking bout that went to excess.

The mechanics of conversion (Acts 9)

Perhaps the most famous conversion story in all of history happens in this chapter. An angry young rabbi who is trying to stamp out this new Christian sect has an encounter that changes his life -- and ours -- forever.

Act 9:1,2 Saul ise Rab'bin öğrencilerine karşı hâlâ tehdit ve ölüm soluyordu. Başkâhine gitti, Şam'daki havralara verilmek üzere mektuplar yazmasını istedi. Orada İsa'nın yolunda yürüyen kadın erkek, kimi bulsa tutuklayıp Yeruşalim'e getirmek niyetindeydi.
Act 9:3 Yol alıp Şam'a yaklaştığı sırada, birdenbire gökten gelen bir ışık çevresini aydınlattı.
Act 9:4 Yere yıkılan Saul, bir sesin kendisine, "Saul, Saul, neden bana zulmediyorsun?" dediğini işitti.
Act 9:5 Saul, "Ey Efendim, sen kimsin?" dedi. "Ben senin zulmettiğin İsa'yım" diye yanıt geldi.
Act 9:6 "Haydi kalk ve kente gir, ne yapman gerektiği sana bildirilecek."

A few words:

• birdenbire gökten gelen bir ışık çevresini aydınlattı. -- suddenly, in a moment / from heaven / coming / a / light / around / shone. (the lovely Turkish greeting Gün aydın! wishes you a bright and shining day.)
  
• neden bana zulmediyorsun? -- for what reason, why / Me / are you (singular, intimate) persecuting?
  
• Ey Efendim, sen kimsin? -- O / my Lord / you / are who?
  
• Ben senin zulmettiğin İsa'yım -- I / who you / persecute / Jesus am.
  

In America, we've developed an efficient, mechanized process for mass-producing imitation conversions. A trained orator fiddles upon the raw, exposed emotions of a largely adolescent crowd, until their reserves break down, and they comply with the expected rituals. They "go forward" to the front of the church, recite, or are coached through, a brief liturgy, then are baptized. A few years later they disappear from the church, often feeling vague resentments towards those who played such "head games"[1] with them.

Real conversions, OTOH, tend to be unique events. Although people can be instantly gulled[2] into doing things against their better judgement[3], true transformation is a longer-term process. Quite often, those who are most desperately and insanely passionate about an issue have nagging doubts they are trying to shout down. We know that Saul "consented to" the murder of Stephen. The primary witness against an executed felon threw the first stone, then gaurded the coats of the others. The synagogue that started the case against Stephen contained men from Kilikya -- Saul's home town. They were frustrated because they could not win fair arguments with Stephen, and therefore resorted to force. Imagine a highly-trained rabbi of impeccable Jewish lineage, unable to counter the reasonings of this guy from out of town, with a Greek name.[4]

Stephen was dead, but his arguments lived on. The miraculous vision of Jesus catalyzed events already in process. Interestingly enough, Saul (who later became Paul) seems to have stepped into Stephen's shoes. A number of Stephen's issues (care for the poor, eloquent public proclamation, getting stoned) became Saul's issues.

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[1] A bit of late 60's argot. So I'm a reformed hippy ...

[2] To gull means to deceive. The verb form of the far more common adjective gullible. Several characters in Shakespeare's plays are introduced as "gulled gent."

[3] A technique frequently used by unscrupulous sales people in the USA is to offer some kind of "free gift" to those who are willing to sit and listen to a sales pitch. You go, with larceny in your heart, planning to glom onto the gift and turn a deaf ear to the pitch. However, your own ethical compromise gives the skilled huckster the leverage he needs to talk you into something you never intended.

[4] Στέφανον is Greek for Crown.