"Is Jesus God?"
Summer 2003 Bible Study

Chapter 1

"St. Joan of Arc Bible Study is an open and growing group that meets for fellowship and to discuss the Bible and other faith-centered literature. Our informal study group draws from biblical scholarship, historical perspectives, current events and personal reflections. We welcome honor and respect the personal ideas and spiritual journeys of all who join us."

Greetings

Michael Morwood at SJA in 2001

What a beautifully mysterious and stormy night.  Is that a metaphor?  Those of us braving the elements were not disappointed.  We were to discuss the first chapter of Morwood's "Is Jesus God?" and discuss we did. 

Firstly, we were graced with the presence of one new member tonight and were also revisited by an old-time regular.  Welcome, and it's good to have you back!

We opened with a reading that reminded the reader of how we might see ourselves, as children of God and to keep that always in mind.  It reminds us of how difficult that can be and how terrified we actually are of our light. 

Why is that?  Why are we terrified of our light?  Why do we struggle to keep God at bay?  Is it because it would mean we would have to take responsibility for ourselves and the state of our earth?  Is it because if we realized our inner light we would no longer have a god or devil to blame for the struggles and misery in the world?

Presently, it is fitting that a fan and previous reader of Morwood's book was kind enough to facilitate and he did a wonderful service by giving us some background information on Morwood's views that include ideas discussed in his previous book (Tomorrow's Catholic).  A wonderful foundation was laid and we were then given many questions to ponder and discuss that are fundamental in developing a mature adult faith.  Here follows our overview, though it appeared our facilitator had a "teacher's" copy with more information!

Is Jesus God? By Michael Morwood

Chapter 1 - Adult Faith Development

The big ideas:

1. As children we learn in black and white, but as adults we tend to reject absolutes. We learn to deal in gray. Religions teach us absolutes. Religions do not teach us to question or to grow in our faith. Religions want us to remain as children in our faith. Our Bible study group is trying to deal with our understanding of God as adults. This is not the case with most Bible studies. He says that if we do not develop beyond a black and white understanding, we have an arrested development and will have faith issues such as those on pages 20-22.

   Questions:
   

   What other areas are taught as absolutes, that as adults we learn to question or evolve in our understanding? Columbus? The "New" World? Founding fathers? Has your understanding of these issues changed since the fifth grade? Why are you Christian? Is it only because you were born into a Christian family? If you weren't, would you become a Christian? Do you take responsibility for your beliefs, or did your parents, teachers or priests hand them to you? Can you ask yourself "Is Jesus God"? We may have many different answers; the issue is not the answer but the willingness to ask the question. Does the answer deepen or destroy your faith? (We'll ask that question again at the end of the book.)

   The author sees the Bible as mankind's attempt to explain the unknowable God and our relationship to Him/Her. It was not divinely written by God to tell us the truth. If mankind wrote it, it looks at the universe, as they understood it at the time. As our understanding of the universe and our place in it has changed, Religion has not used this new information to evolve our relationship with and understanding of God. We tend to look at God the same way mankind did when they saw the universe as three places, earth will heaven above and hell below. Yet we now know that earth is a small planet with a smallish star that is one of billions of stars in a medium sized galaxy that is one of billions of galaxies. We know that man has been around for a blink of time. Up in heaven or down in hell become different concepts. Ancient Biblical writers had a far simpler view. If the Bible is mankind's attempt to explain their relationship with God, then the first question is how did we get here? The creation story is an attempt to answer that basic question. God made us and put us in charge.

   Questions:
   

   Was the Bible written by God or by man? Is your answer different if we ask: Old or New Testament?

   If God is all good, why is there evil and hardship in the world? As soon as man wrote about creation this big question arose. The only possible answer was that it was mankind's fault, since it could not be God's fault. The first "sin" was Adam's and that was the reason for all the non-good in the world. Man therefore caused a breach of trust with God and the fall. Man was locked out of heaven. The bridge between heaven and earth was closed. This breach had to healed and only God could repair the damage and reopen the gates of heaven. Jesus was the answer. If he was God, he could fix it. Therefore Jesus had to be God. His mission was therefore primarily to reopen the gates of heaven. His message was reduced in value as secondary to his mission. Once Jesus had to be God, and since he taught about the Spirit, we had a "trinity" to explain that there was only one God but three entities. From here things continued to get so complicated that you had to take everything based on faith. Fine points of dogma became codified to keep it all clear and small questions became heresies that could lead to real bad results, such as burning at the stake.

   Questions:
   

   Does Jesus' divinity reduce or enhance his message? Can we accept Christianity without original sin? Can we remain Catholic's without Jesus' divinity? Is Jesus' divinity a cornerstone of our entire belief structure?

   Conclusions: I hope that this book will cause us to ask some very fundamental questions about our faith and our perspective of God. We must all answer these questions in our own way. As adults we must move beyond stories to belief. There may be some uncomfortable moments ahead as we discuss this book. I know that this group is up to the challenge.

The large group included much discussion on what exactly "written by God" means and what is "sacred scripture" or how does a group of ideas or stories become sacred.  Is it by whom the material is written or by what the material comes to mean for a particular community that makes it sacred? What is the definition of sacred?  Well, since mom (Audrey) was not here tonight, (she has everything with her) we did not have a dictionary but I will indulge us here. 

Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

Sacred

Function: adjective

Etymology: Middle English, from past participle of sacren to consecrate, from Old French sacrer, from Latin sacrare, from sacr-, sacer sacred; akin to Latin sancire to make sacred, Hittite saklAi- rite

Date: 14th century

1. a : dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity b : devoted exclusively to one service or use (as of a person or purpose) ;a fund sacred to charity
2. a : worthy of religious veneration : HOLY   b : entitled to reverence and respect
3. of or relating to religion : not secular or profane ;sacred music
4. archaic : ACCURSED
5. a : UNASSAILABLE INVIOLABLE b: highly valued and important; a sacred responsibility