Canon Group Essay 3

Here is my second essay for the Canon Group assignment.

3. The Dead Sea Scrolls

One of the most impactful discoveries for religious study and of great historical value, the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls, happened by chance. In 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy stumbled upon the greatest finding of the century in a cave by Khirbet Qumran, which is about 35 kilometers east of Jerusalem. These were the Dead Sea Scrolls, which he proceeded to sell on the market. After traveling through different hands on the market, translators and Bible scholars found out about these scrolls, leading to a flood of archaeologists and bounty hunters setting out to find more. The fact that more original manuscripts of the Bible exist than those of popular classic literature such as Homer’s Iliad proves the authenticity and longevity of the Bible. The Dead Sea Scrolls contain a majority of the original Old Testament Manuscripts. By about 1956 a majority of the scrolls, almost 950 texts including mostly fragments, in that region had been discovered in some eleven caves. People searched for these valuable documents, some of which can now be found in the Shrine of Books, and even found nearby treasures through clues from the texts such as copper. Near the lowest point of the earth, in a region where many Bible stories of the Old Testament take place, an ancient community – the Adat Hayahad or Essenes, possibly a reclusive Jewish sect broken off by controversies in the Temple – hid ancient manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible and other documents such as laws, calendars, and some apocryphal texts. Through different dating methods, scholars have found that the books span through the Hellenistic-Roman Period, ranging from the third century BCE to before 70 CE – approximately 250 BC to 50 AD. Mostly in the standard Jewish script, the Dead Sea Scrolls contain some paleo-Hebrew from the time of the First Temple, which helps scientists date the books.  Written in primarily Hebrew and some Greek or Aramaic, these thick parchment scrolls revolutionized the modern understanding of history and religion. Many texts within the collection contain records of the Adate Hayahad community showing the history, laws, practices, and even literature of the people. However, parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls are also some of the oldest evidences and copies of many Hebrew Books; manuscripts of almost the entire Hebrew Bible, besides Esther, can be found within the group plus copies of some Psalms. These ancient scrolls back up the Bible like it never has been before and spurred on a whole new study of the Word, when they were found simply by accident.

Word Count: 422

Again, I used a lot from the notes provided by our teacher, but I also used some facts from the following two websites: http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/home, http://dss.collections.imj.org.il/

Canon Group Essay 1

For one of Twenty-Four Seven's classes, students may post essay assignments as blog posts so I thought I might share with any readers I have.

1. An Apocryphal Writing

Stories or statements of doubtful authenticity but widely circulated as true are called apocryphal. Thus, Apocryphal writings include any which do not meet the criteria for acceptance into the canonical, or genuine, Scriptures. Many false writings like the Apocalypses of Baruch, stories like Bel and the Dragon, additional chapters like Psalm 151, and series like the first through fourth Esdras do not meet the standards and get grouped into the Apocrypha. Based on the principles of canonicity – authority, prophetic authorship, authenticity, dynamic nature, and acceptance – the Apocryphal passages do not qualify as biblical canon. Not only do these books lack prophecies like those found in canon Scriptures, but also they do not claim to be prophetic. Typically Protestants and Jews do not accept these writings as part of the Bible, but some Catholics do. Also, the books of the Apocrypha are not accepted by Jesus, early church fathers, notable scholars, and even some Roman Catholic scholars. The New Testament cites no Spiritual inspiration for these books, and neither does God provide them with any authority like true canon. Other reasons against the canonicity of the Apocrypha include historical errors and theological heresies as well.

Throughout the Western world primarily, the Apocrypha has greatly contributed to culture. According to gamefaqs and the elder scrolls wikia, in the popular Skyrim video game series, Dragonborn contains a twisted realm titled Apocrypha. This plane apparently contains books of forbidden knowledge. From the Fall of Man in Genesis, under a sinful nature humans have sought knowledge, even above God. Second Timothy also describes a time when people will “not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” These canon verses show that man can stray from the truly inspired Word of God to find knowledge, just as players in Dragonborn can visit this dark place in-game to find information in shadowy books. Satan still deceives humanity with false writings like the Apocrypha to lead people away from the reality of Christ. One example of this is the cult practice from the Apocrypha of praying for the dead. Although the Bible strictly forbids this activity, Second Maccabees almost disregards the all sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice and priesthood by saying people should pray for those dead in the flesh but alive to God. Because all of sin was paid for through Christ, people need only accept Him as Lord and confess with their mouths to receive salvation. However, verse 12:45 of second Maccabees tells the world that “it is … a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” Christ already loosed all people from all sins, but not everyone has taken hold of that truth or been born again in Him.

Word Count: 478

This last isn't part of my essay, but I still thought it was a cool thought on the topic.

"Even the discovery of the New World was due in part to the influence of a passage from 2 Esdras upon Christopher Columbus.  Although erroneously interpreted, this verse played a significant part in his discovery of the New World.

“On the third day you commanded the waters to be gathered together in a seventh part of the earth; six parts you dried up and kept so that some of them might be planted and cultivated and be of service before you.”  (2 Esdras 6:42)

These words led Columbus to reason that, if only one-seventh of the earth’s surface is covered with water, the ocean between the west coast of Europe and the east coast of Asia could be no great width and might be navigated in a few days with a fair wind.  It was partly by quoting this verse from what was regarded as an authoritative book that Columbus managed to persuade King Ferdnando and Queen Isabela of Spain to provide the necessary financial support for his voyage."

http://my.execpc.com/~gto/Apocrypha/Summaries/culture.html

Reaching the world

MISSIONS AND OUTREACH ARE AWESOME!

Ever since I can remember, I have loved foreign cultures and feeling useful. Starting with my small childhood obsession with anime, my love for cultures in other countries, not only Japan (but especially them) has evolved to a love for others and how God has designed them. From Japanese cartoons I developed an interest in other popular media like music and movies, which lead to curiosity about food and languages. Then I wanted to learn more about different government styles and traditions. Eventually my inquisitiveness branched out to countries besides Japan and the United States. Now I dream about traveling through Europe and Asia, living off of the land, and showing God’s love to everyone I meet. He has created man in His image not only in body, but also in spirit and soul. I just love how so many different beautiful ideas have come from one common Creator. When I was young I felt as if I had no value or ability. God showed me how He can shine in my weaknesses so that I can boast in Him through my short-comings. Because of the love Christ has for me and I have for Him, I want to share Him with others to give them opportunity for more abundant and fulfilling lives. After I realized how much He loves me I set out to tell others about this love through word and action.

God gives me the opportunity to help Him by serving others all over the world, here in America and overseas. Last year in Twenty-Four Seven I had the incredible opportunity to go on my first out-of-the-country mission trip to Peru. My team saw the Holy Spirit move in ways we had not before; from helping a church plant invite new members in their community to watching foreigners worship in their native tongue, the Twenty-Four Seven Peru team witnessed God. I will never forget all of the cool experiences and fun serving memories of that trip.

Also, last summer I began interning in Reach at Bayside where I go to school. Since then I have learned so much about a true heart for missions and outreach, gotten more serving opportunities, learned about building ministries, and much more. God has truly blessed me with the chance to serving under the Reach staff, Brandon and Pastor Guy – what incredible men of faith they are! Under their leadership and guidance, I continue to move forward toward my future international ministry and grow in my relationship with God.

Communication is key, especially with family

I LOVE MY FAMILY!

Not only do I love my earthly family, but also my spiritual family and the relationships that I make within the church. On Sunday night, My Twenty-Four Seven family, Anaiah, had a wing night at a cadre’s house just to hang out. There was a bonfire, amazing wings and great conversation. However, in the midst of this social gathering, my beloved oldest sister called me. Michelle, my oldest sister, lives on Guam with her husband and has a much more social personality than myself. Because she and I had not talked in a while, we spend the next about two or three hours talking about everything going on lately in our lives. I’m not a big fan of talking on the phone, but I love her and appreciated the time spent with her, listening to her and gleaning from her wisdom.

(This is my precious-baby-child Holly with my parents and Michelle when she surprise visited me this summer.)

From those hours of talking, God taught me about the importance of regular communication and the value of communicating with family. Communication is key in relationships. In order to build healthy relationships, people need to invest time to talk and share stories or ideas. When I don’t take time weekly to message or call my sisters and parents, I can tell that I am not prioritizing them or growing closer to them. God talks so much about family in the Bible, that He clearly wants us to place high value on our families. I really do love Anne, Michelle, and my parents. However, sometimes it’s just hard for me to find time to call them and catch up; it’s at these times that I realize I try to justify this wrong and make excuses to not show honor and love to my family by communicating with them. At least every weekend, I try to call my parents. However, I definitely know I should be better about talking with my sisters. Going forward, because God has convicted me, I will honor my whole family in heaven and on earth by obeying God and honoring my sisters and parents through communication.

The importance of rest

Balance seems to be a big thing with me lately, balancing fun and work especially. Many things contribute to me being task oriented, but I have a really hard time making time to rest. I get bored or restless when I try to take breaks. Usually I leave breaks more stressed than refreshed because my mind wanders towards my infinite “to-do” list instead of just shutting off. When a first-year girl on my team asked me about when I have Sabbaths, the Holy Spirit really convicted me. Also, when talking with Alex later about my work ethic/habits I felt the prodding of God, again, telling me to make time to consistently rest.

In fact this week God forced me to rest and I almost despised the blessing. Before work on Monday I felt nauseous, but left two hours early after getting sick in the kitchen; I ended up missing two days of school recovering from the night of pain and illness that followed. I’ve been experiencing conflicting feelings about my job at Chick-fil-A, because I know I need money, but at the same time I have been walking in disobedience to Him by neglecting my physical health and relationships. Because of that negligence and other reasons, I actually turned in my two-week notice the previous week. My gracious boss sent me the nicest e-mail saying I didn’t have to work my two weeks if I didn’t want to, because he had understanding about my schedule. However, I thought I should just as a courtesy to him. God didn’t seem to agree on Monday.

Tuesday and Wednesday God MADE me lie down in “green pastures,” (Psalm 23:2) and instead of praising Him for the period of rest and healing as a break, I thought I was wasting valuable school time. Even though I know I should keep the Sabbath holy and worship Him through all that I do, God also wants us to be intimate with Him and lean on Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light (Matthew 11:30). Instead of trying to find time to do everything myself and becoming obsessed with the works that won’t save me (but should only testify of my love and desire for obedience), God wants me to prioritize my time to make sure I do spend quality time with Him. From now on I want to manage my time better to allow for rest time and time with God.

Bride of Christ before men

I AM SO BLESSED!

Last week I mentioned how my boyfriend, a third-year in Twenty-Four Seven, shared a passage of Scripture with me during a trip. This man is seriously so great. Through our relationship, God has taught me so much about humility, leadership, balance, and my relationship with Him.

Since the beginning of our courtship, Alex has been showing me how to trust God and allow him to lead by following the Holy Spirit. I tend to have a dominating personality at times, especially when in a relationship with such a non-aggressive man, but I have learned to step back and humble myself by allowing him to lead me.

Also, there are often times when I think about wanting to spend time with Alex and know him better, but it reminds me of how I am the bride of Christ and should desire to grow my relationship with Him. Alex always encourages me to seek God more and lean on Him.