This is the 7th of a series of essays that cover the origin of the Israelite nation and conclude with a discussion of the Ten Commandments. Links to the prior essays can be found in the left hand column of this post under My Links: "Essays on the Exodus and the Ten Commandments."
This essay is the final piece of the puzzle leading to the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments. The next post will start to explore the Commandments themselves. This essay is about understanding just who this God, Yahweh, is who is going to give the Commandments to the people, the Israelites, who have agreed to live by them under the love, care and protection of Yahweh.
God is about to speak the Commandments directly to the people. We, mistakenly, might think that He will simply write them down for them. But that comes later. First, He speaks them to the people. Biblical imagery is full of allusions to the ability of God to accomplish God's desires by simply speaking them. Just as God spoke the world into existence in the beginning, by God's spoken word God will lay down for the Israelites the boundaries of the Covenant to which they have now all agreed.
We must not trivialize this time of the preparation of the people to hear this word from God. Anxious as we are to know what God wants from us, we must take our cues from God who expects that we will receive what he speaks with appropriate awe and respect. Almost all of Chapter 19, from the time when the people say, "Everything the Lord commands, we will do," deals with God's insistence that the people know who God is and treat him with appropriate respect.
This is a lesson that believers would do well to learn. Many Christians, whose last serious study of the Bible often ended by the time they were teenagers, seldom think about a strong and powerful, and at times angry God. Instead, the God we are most comfortable with in our own minds is often a warm, easy going God, a "friend," a "pal," a "buddy." But we are also to remember that God is also the Creator of the Universe.
For Christians the same warm and fuzzy Jesus we like to comfort ourselves with is also the awesome Judge of all Creation. And we tend to forget that. The compliant Jesus we Christians most comfortably imagine is surely one aspect of God's nature; and it is a very important one.
But the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses, our God, is also something else entirely: fearsome, awesome, and all-powerful. To paraphrase Anne Dillard who often sees what we intentionally avoid seeing: Christians are all too often like children playing in church with a chemistry set; unaware of the awesome power that they so casually fiddle with when they worship. Better", she says, "that we come to church in flak jackets and helmets, lest we awake the sleeping God that we invoke!"
The God we meet in the story of Exodus is well aware of the distance that separates him from mere mortals. Three times God warns Moses to have the people prepare to hear him: ritually cleansing themselves, consecrating themselves to make themselves holy, setting boundaries past which they may not step, making sure that they not break through to the Lord to look at him. Three full days of preparation were demanded by God before they were ready to hear the Ten Commandments. Three days! Modern day worshipers would never tolerate that. Most of us would give up and go home after three hours!
Yet listen to the language God uses with Moses to impress upon him the severity and importance of this time of preparation: "Any who touch the mountain shall be put to death." "Go down and warn the people not to break through to the Lord to look; otherwise many of them shall perish. Even the priests who approach the Lord must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them." "Do not let either the priests or the people break through to come up to the Lord; otherwise he will break out against them!" There is nothing warm and fuzzy in these words of God! Yet, God insists on all of these precautions to protect them!
And when God does condescend to, amazingly, "come down to them," try to get a picture of the terrible power that the people see and feel. All of nature bows to this Almighty Yahweh. Thunder and lightning begin, a thick cloud engulfs the top of the mountain, fire and smoke erupt out of the mountain, an a trumpet blasts so loud all the people tremble in fear. The entire mountain shakes, even as the trumpet blasts louder and louder and louder.
A skeptic would say, "Why, it is only a volcanic eruption." Which is no doubt true. But in this story the volcanic eruption happens because the holy God of Israel has descended to its peak, and even the mountain trembles in his presence. This metaphor's unstated question is, "Should his people do less?"
God has promised his presence with them. Yet now it seems to them like less of a good idea than before! But God protects them: they will only hear him, but will not be allowed to see him or even to touch the ground near him. Thus even his very presence will be shrouded in shadow and mystery: a proposition that moderns find very uncomfortable. We insist that we can know, describe, tame and control God to fit our image of God, to keep God on a leash and do our beckoning.
But this is a God that we cannot tame: a God whose power is so great words cannot begin to describe it. Yahweh insists that his holiness not be trivialized, or compromised in any way by what humans hope or prefer. God is not to be tamed to our images of him.
What we see clearly here is that this is not a spontaneous, joyous little meeting with Yahweh. There are no calls out for who wants coffee. And would you like a sweet roll. This is an intentionally orchestrated, carefully choreographed meeting with the God of the universe. There is nothing casual about it!
As Walter Bruggemann so aptly puts it, "Yahweh is an alien presence, a foreboding, threatening and de-stabilizing otherness. The narrator wants to take us up in awe and terror, in the presence of the Holy One who is beyond all portrayal....God comes...untamed and on the loose!"
Just so, the preparations that God demands from the Israelites in order for them to be able to safely come into his presence are ordered and severe; and they are quite different than our own preparations to be in the presence of the Holy One.
How often do we, in our preparation and worship, trivialize God's holiness? We want a God who is immediately available. We drop to our knees, or, more likely, slightly bow our heads, and we imagine that God has nothing better to do than to immediately give us his undivided attention. After all, on this Sabbath or Sunday did we not give up a picnic, or a ball game, or sleeping in, to be here. Shouldn't God at least thank us for such a great sacrifice?
The truth is that most of our worship takes place far, far short of the base of the mountain. We want to be in position to seize the initiative, to call the shots, beckoning God at our convenience. Were we to get close enough to feel and hear our God, would we be quite so complacent about our worship?
The meeting between God and the people described in our text is anything but a get together between "buddies." This text asserts that the God of our fathers will not come into the midst of our indifference. Some other God that we conjure in our imaginations might, some God of our own making, some God of our convenience. But not the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, the God of Jews and Christians alike.
We must ask ourselves what God it is we invoke when we gather together to worship. Do we worship an awesome God, a God beyond our very comprehension, a God who loves us but who also demands our love and loyalty? Can the modern mind even begin to wrap itself around the idea of such an awesome otherness? These are the questions that Chapter 19 demands we ponder; and it behooves us to spend some time meditating on these questions.
Walter Bruggemann argues that this God, our God, lives neither in easy, comfortable intimacy with us, his people, nor is he remote and impassable. In other words, Bruggemann argues that God fits no stereotypes that we are likely to conjure up when we try to get a grasp of who God is. Rather, in odd and unpredictable ways, God comes and goes, always seizing the initiative from us, and changing what we so comfortably think is reality.
What we have in the scenes described in Chapter 19 is the entry of heaven into earth. And that, my friends, is a hard idea to wrap our minds around. In this story God comes down to his chosen people: and nothing is ever the same again. The question for us is whether we can, or whether we even want to, capture some of the spell-binding sense of the power that is possible when we ask God to come into our lives.
An old mentor long ago told me that it is a frightening thing to be in close proximity to the God of the Universe. Yet if we have faith we must ask for that same God to be with us. May we have the courage to reach out in awe and adoration to the God of Israel, the God who changes everything.
Next: The first three commandments.
God bless.
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Comments
The way I look at it, words are the medium by with information is passed. In and of itself that is powerful.
When we consider the very first words of the Bible, where the Word was God, it takes us to the idea of Logos, or information. People speak of the Word of God being the Bible, when infact it is ultimatly the information transmitted by God that is important, not literally paper Bibles.
Think about how the entire universe can be understood in terms of the information that is conveyed by the existence of matter. Uniform superstrings vibrating at different frequencies create the manifestation of different particles. Each 'note' is a different type of information being conveyed, the Word would then be the sheet music of God's piano, if you will.
When we also look at DNA, we see that it is a chemical medium for the transmission of information.
The underlying information of the universe, of all things, is prime. It is essential, and from the theological standpoint, it is ultimatly OF and IS God, technically speaking.
I would love to see you do a piece on that someday.
As for this one, and the entire series, I give it an A+ for excellent, indepth research and analysis.
For those who follow a Christian path, it will be very informative, and for those who do not, such as myself, I found it to be highly interesting nonetheless and very well written.
Rated!
I often pray to my idea of what God is. My perceptions are molded by experience and at times fear. Yes, I often wish for immediate gratification via prayer, but I know that is often for not other than knowing my covenant with God is a special one — just mine. I don't see an angry God; I often notice the little things and say, "He is speaking to me." ~R~
String theory equations tell quite a story, bubble theory may indeed prove a God, a real one. I stand behind that as one who takes revealed religions as allegorical. Hawaiians stand with God, so close it is impossible to deny it all- Truth.
rated. excellent series.
Aloha Kakou
God this and god that, I know the one true god and I can talk to this god and I speak the word of my god and OMG where is Bill Maher when we need him?
Mr. Retired Protestant Pastor and Theologian, jointly credentialed in the United Church of Christ and the Moravian Church, YOU ARE FULL OF S-H-I-T!
Having won a Triple Ford Foundation Fellowship, one in Anthropology and another Fellowship a result of my theory of the Big Bang as it actually occurred and my arguments leading to the Fellowship, my IQ standing at 173, I think I can say safely, that after my arguments were published a physicist with one Noble Prize saluted my analysis of Why my studies turned me from an agnostic to a believer. Education properly applied truly opens and opened my mind to the truth about what motivated the Quantum. Not finding the engine that drives the Quantum created a number of believers among the Top US physicists. When my paper which predicted that neither Neanderthal nor Homo Erectus would carry our DNA (in 1972/73 became a reality in The 1987 Berkeley study, my professors wept for joy and vindication at their foresight in giving me a scholarship and supporting my FFF papers. Right On, even though I do not accept every word of either testament as accurate, my predictions against the grain, are proof enough for many people of the existence of the Motivating engine of the Quantum being the Creator at a distance, the same God my idol Einstein and his friend Gödel knew.
Now, go read skeptical inquirer and shut the fuck up and leave this dude alone. He's entitled to his belief system just as much as you are yours. It's not very nice to come onto his blog and flame him just because you don't like christianity.
I'm not a christian, hell, I'm not even a believer in God other than as a natural and emergent pancomputational principle, but I don't spend my time ripping on the faith of others, outside of the confines of my own blog. If you hate this kind of thing, take it to your blog and keep it there and stop being such an ass.
You probably like cats, don't you?
Chuck: however it is you make your connection to the infinite I am glad that you find the connection that works for you. I too do not see God as angry very often. But I do see God as being very angry at the evil which humans perpetrate on one another. I want a God who fights injustice, and speaks for the disenfranchised of the world, the God that liberation theologians of all stripes celebrate in their interpretation of scripture.
Hey, Scanner. Glad you dropped by. We'll see you when you get back from your reading.
Thanks, Surfer, for coming back. I appreciate your willingness to share the Hawaiian spiritual experience with us. I would be interested in reading a post or two were you to write more about it.
Professor: thanks for your input and your insistence that faith can stand the scrutiny of intellect. I have never for a moment doubted that but then I have immersed myself in the writings of some brilliant theologians for a long, long time.
Monte
Arrogant, insulting and infantile outbursts of incivility are not tolerated here.
Further comments by you will be removed.
Monte
And once more HAPPY OPEN SALON ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!
Monte
Monte
Hope things remain well on the ranch.
Monte
Another thought--our culture has trivialized the word "awesome" Turned it into a cliche--
Even when it so aptly applies here
And let me just say, Monte, that He Who Shall Not Be Named (above) completely misses the soul that I hear speaking when reading your words. Just totally misses the boat. Bless you.
I hope that your writings will eventually become a book. You always stimulate my thoughts about faith and God and provide a greater understanding of not only "the word" but how "the word" relates in a real, personal world. Thank you.
By the way, I'd love to see your take on the new "R Crumb's Book of Genesis" that was just published. I read a really interesting article about it in Newsweek.
The whole "angry frightening God" thing is hard for us to accept. If you've ever seen the mostly-silly movie "Dogma," there is a wonderful bit in which George Carlin (playing a Catholic cardinal) decides to update the Church's image by replacing the "depressing" crucifix with a statue of the "Buddy Christ."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Christ
Pilgrim: interesting that you got hooked by that phrase also. I remember many, many years ago when told that by a wise old man and dear mentor that I just paused and said something very similar to what you did: "I'm going to have to think about that." As to the frustration with trolls, they do not often come around here any more which helps make my blog a sanctuary for those who want to have a respectful and civilized conversation about faith issues. But every now and then one tries as has happened this time. I mostly ignore them and delete any comments by known antagonists. But I sometimes leave up the first one by a new antagonist so that people can see that I do not just chop comments arbitrarily. I thought Andy, who not in any way a person of traditional faith,was more than nice to step forward, as did Pete in his own inimitable style. I don't worry about this sort of thing from the point of view of defending God. God has heard it all and hardly needs me to defend him. I am needed to provide a place on OS where civil discussion of faith issues, within the context of faith, can occur. And I try hard to provide that.
Thank you, Walter. I am working on making my reflections on faith into a commentary for lay people. I have a publisher interested but am not so sure I want to make the effort to publish another book. But we shall see. I am not familiar with the book you mention but will look it up. Your kind words are an inspiration to me to continue my work in sharing ways to look at faith and are much appreciated.
Monte
I find that an "angry frightening God" is hard for me to accept, and there are parts of the Bible that describe a God that is foreign to everything I believe is decent and holy. Those parts were redacted by a minority people who had next to nothing to cling to that the hope that God would be on their side. And their stories were embellished to show that God was. In ways that I find very offensive.
I do think, however, that we need to remember than God is a God of Justice as well as a God of Love. There is evil and injustice rampant in this world and that evil is often clearly in violation of everything that God says we should be. When that happens I want to know that God is against that evil and injustice; that God is on the side of the oppressed, the poor, the disenfranchised, and those for whom society offers little or no hope. I want God to be angry and frightening to those who perpetrate that injustice. And I believe that the parts of the Bible which show God, constantly, to be on the side of the underdog clearly trump the stories that show God as being angry and evil himself. A careful reading of scripture shows that God really requires only this: "8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" [The book of Micah, 6:8]
Thanks much for your comments.
Monte
Monte can defend himself. He doesn't need me or anyone for that. I just want you to know that what you say is both cowardly and uncalled for. Now go away and have a nice day.
The question that jumps off the pages at me is this one, 'Can the modern mind even begin to wrap itself around the idea of such an awesome otherness? "
That is quite a question that requires some thought. I'm going to venture that, other than maybe some rarities, the answer would be no. I know that I wouldn't think about a God like that until I read this post. Sure I've heard many of the Bible stories of the Wrath of God, but never really put two and two together like that. I can't imagine the people not doing exactly as they were told after seeing all of these miracles.
I know that if I were to ever see a UFO up close and personal I would certainly have a very hard time trying to ever get that out of my mind. In fact I might spend most of the rest of my days staring up at the sky in hopes of getting another glimpse of something like that. I'm just saying that the parting of the Red Sea would have surely been a closer for me. I don't think I would need another miracle to convince me.
Anne, your analysis and questions are right on the money and we would do well to ponder them. I constantly tell Christians, particularly those who get all their scripture listening to the prosperity preachers, that if anyone told you that faith was easy, then they lied! Like you say, one day at a time, one hour at a time, even one minute at a time we do our best to surrender ourselves to the unknown future as it is presented to us by God. But I take comfort that while we may not know the future, God is there to guide and protect us, even in the midst of our worst troubles.
Thanks much to both of you.
Monte
I am enthusiastic to let more people know of the Hawaiian Creation, the "Pulling Up" in English ... and how it speaks to universal power.
I rarely do this but my feeling is the effort you've put into this series warrants it and more: Mea Culpa- I often, in historical context, harp on the church of old. Too easy, what with Inquisition and Crusade galore ... and, too easy. Too lightweight as writing goes.
Monte, I include a link here to a human being I feel is as close to perfect as we come, The Archbishop of New Rome. My contentious arguments often include point out Popes were Papal State dictators, contrast that with this saint of a Man's reaction to a slight he's endured through enheritance for over a thousand years. Now here is a role model-
http://www.charlierose.com/download/transcript/10696
Aloha Kakou
I have to admit that I am often very hard on the Christian right, and tend to throw them all in the same pot and drown them all in scalding water. Yet I KNOW that such stereotyping is wrong and inaccurate because I personally know many good people who are conservative Christians. I excuse my behavior by saying that some of the idiots that run that part of Christianity deserve to be stoned out of town. But that does not justify my tarring an entire group of Christians with a broad brush. I should be clear that it is the leaders who foment hatred of people who are different than they are that I cannot abide.
I will check out that link and I thank you for it.
Monte
The split in 1054 was over a simple but theologically significant issue in the Nicene Creed called the "filioque clause." The issue was about the Trinity and whether or not the Holy Spirit "proceeds" from the Father, or from the Father and the Son. The traditional language said from the Father. The Roman church insisted on "from the Father and the Son." Since the Trinity is supposed to represent each manifestation of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit as equal, the Orthodox Church insisted that the three manifestations could not be equal if the Son were elevated to a place of equality with the Father and those two then became more important than the third manifestation, the Holy Spirit.
Today it seems like an arcane problem at best, but in point of fact the Orthodox position is the more sound one theologically since the understanding of the Trinity from the beginning assumed the equality of all three manifestations.
The Orthodox Church has much to teach the rest of Christianity about the Holy Spirit and how that Spirit represents God moving in our lives.
Thanks for the link. I am glad I read it.
Monte
I am the kind of Christian you speak of here, that thinks of the Christ, not as a "buddy," precisely, but as a tolerant, non-judgmental propagator of love. Thanks for holding up a mirror so I could recognize myself.
God is not available "on-demand" like some pay-per-view movie. He is the Creator of the Universe, and it is good to be reminded periodically that we must tremble in His presence.
-R- highly, and I shall try to read your entire series as time permits me. You are doing wonderful things here in proclaiming His message. I hope, and suspect, that you will not lose heart in the face of those who come and desecrate this on-line temple you are constructing.
I do have one reservation, however. I, like a lot of people, doubtless, have seen the concept of God turned so completely into a social justice construct that there sometimes does not seem to be room for other things in Him. Obviously social justice issues must be important to a Christian; I cannot see how they cannot. But to me--and I do emphasise that this is just me here, I cannot speak for others--God gets angry about more than, say, poverty. He gets angry when we disobey His laws. He gets angry when we try to sophisticate things. He gets angry when we try to construct a Christian belief system that allows us to get all the good, warm, fuzzy stuff without having to face the hard things He has imposed upon us as well, often relating to the physical appetites.
Few enjoy living under rule, or being told what to do. I struggle with this myself, like everyone. But I do accept that bending the knee is part of obeying Him. I can't just do what I want because it feels good, and supposedly doesn't hurt anybody or break any laws. Regulating the self is hard--frighteningly hard. But the Christian God has actually been pretty clear about the necessity for that, and I doubt that He doesn't see our attempts to get around Him and His laws.
It's just something that I see a lot in the west, and understand--but must reject, or try to. Being a whited sepulchre doesn't just involve harbouring hatred or contempt for others--it involves indulging the self, too.
As for the trolls and others who would rather destroy than build, I am not worried about them. If they get too out of hand I simply remove their comments. Usually I leave the first uncivilized comment up simply as an example of how not to behave on this blog. Further comments by those people are just removed. I intend this blog to be a sanctuary for believers and non believers alike who can discuss issues within the context of faith with respect and civility. And that is precisely what this blog will be.
Deargdruchtach, thank you so much for reading this series and now commenting. I much appreciate it. I share much of your reservation and for essentially the same reasons.
Modern folk, particularly Americans I think, have very much a "what's in it for me attitude." And I see it in church just as much as I see it in the rest of society. They too often come to church to see what they can get out of it, not what they can give of themselves to God. If they do not feel "fed" on a given Sunday they see that as the fault of the pastor or the choir or the church in general. Now I think it is great to be fed but the first purpose of church is to worship God. And, yes, that requires bending that knee you mention, it requires knowing what God expects of us and what obligations (a hated word these days) we have to God and to the faith if we are to profess that we believe it.
Social justice, something that I am personally passionate about, is an important part of what we can seek as a part of Christ's church, but, like you, I do not believe it is the only thing. First God requires that we make ourselves holy, set apart for God's work, and setting an example for others as to what the Kingdom of God might look like if we were to only act like it were here.
It is a hard sell today, but when I was in the pulpit I insisted on trying to sell it, that God has real and substantial expectations as to how we are to live, and that as members of Christ's church we have personal obligations to Christ. Even things like say, tithing, or giving generously to the church and to others are often seen as forbidden subjects. "Money is personal," is something I heard many times. But so is stewardship, mission, helping and serving personal. So is sacrifice, something that no one likes to talk about. But sacrificial love, agape, is the essence of our attempts to be as Christ like as we can.
As to personal habits and behaviors that is an area where if it is even mentioned many people simply are offended and tune out. But we do have obligations regarding what we do with this "temple" that God has given us. How we act, what we indulge ourselves in, and even what we allow ourselves to think are things about which we must attempt to discern God's will for us.
I think you will enjoy some of my takes on the Ten Commandments now that we have arrived there in the series. I am not saying that you will agree with them. That is not why I am writing about them. But they will offer some more food for thought in the area of what it means to live according to God's precepts.
God bless both of you.
Monte
However, when organized religion is used by the likes of politicians or heads of worship places to underscore their points or rationalize actions or motivate brutality or exclusion anywhere in the world it becomes hateful and at that point not a personal point of view anymore. Now they are affecting the lives of others.
I have spent my whole childhood in a convent and no one tried to convert me ever unless they did and I never even knew! My parents never worried that it would happen. It did not. This paranoia in people who think that f they read blogs or the Bible for that matter they somehow are being indoctrinated is weird. I know every single prayer, hymn, carol, simply by rote of 12 years.
Knowledge never ever harmed anyone. It is ignorance that is dangerous.
I think that those who fear so much are so inconfident of their own beliefs that need to spread the fear around. So dont let negative comments worry you. You are simply doing what is your's to do in your own space. Love that!
Rated .
Whether or not someone believes as I do has never been a criterion for commenting here. That the commenter is civil and respectful of those of different faith positions, or of no faith at all, is mandatory.
So I do not worry about the trolls. They are simply not welcome here. They have their own blogs to write whatever they wish. I do not bother them there are they have no right to say whatever vile and slanderous thing they want to say on my blog. Some are amazingly persistent and I have to just keep deleting their comments.
So it is no big deal. What is a big deal to me is that my blog continue to be a sanctuary where people can talk openly about their concerns WITHIN the concept of faith. And that does not include attacks on the very idea of having a spiritual life or having a faith.
Monte
Monte
We are told that this is what God did...
"In the beginning was the word"
............................................................
And do we not do the same?
............................................................
At the beginning of sapiency was language.
Language evolved.
Does God'sWord evolve, as well?
What is the relationship between Man's Word...his literal
spoken word...and God's?
Does his word coincide with ours?
.........................................................................
Today our speech is garbled and confused...
Too much talk about nothing...
economic survival tactics is all i hear...
...................................................................
The whole english language is perverted from the way things ARE...
Subjects and predicates....
split the world into
Inside and outside..
.......................................................................
My friend and I are desperately seeking...faith....
Where is God? Inside? Outside? Both?
Random thoughts from reading your post
and dovetailing
into our concerns...
James and Loopy
"What God is it we invoke
when we gather together to worship?"
you ask..
Whitehead said: "Religion is something we do in private.."
Didn't Jesus say don't make a show of prayer?
Go in a closet and pray....
What God do we invoke in private? Is he
different from the God we invoke in community?
..............................................................................
The relationship between God's Word and our spoken word is the relationship between the speech of a Creator and a creature. We have the capacity to speak what we believe about God and the universe and we may be coming close to what God would have us believe and thus speak. So, yes, from time to time I believe our words do coincide with God's word to us. But we derive our knowledge from God's grace in giving us our cognitive functions. We can never compete but we try. And sometimes we fly too close to the sun and the wax on our wings melts.
God is both inside of us as the Holy Spirit guiding and teaching and comforting, and outside of us, Other, if you will as the Father and the Son waiting, watching, guiding and instructing us through the Spirit. Faith comes not only from our desperate search, but most importantly as a gift of the Spirit. You have to ask for faith and when it is presented to you as an option you must make a "leap of faith." and accept it. You cannot study your way to it. But once you have it you can study to understand it better.
Religion can be done in private, but Christianity is a corporate endeavor. We can certainly pray in private and I encourage it. But Christianity is clear that the Church is the Body of Christ and as such is to be an example to the world of what the Kingdom of God can look like. There are no intentional lone Christians. Jesus did say not to show off your praying, but he meant just that. He did not deny corporate worship and the Bible is clear that he participated in it often as well as going off alone to meditate and pray. Do both. Remember, though, he promises that where two or three are gathered together, there he will be also.
And you know the answer to the last question: There is but one God, public, private, anywhere.
Thanks for commenting.
Monte
"An old mentor long ago told me that it is a frightening thing to be in close proximity to the God of the Universe."
There was a line that Stephen King used in his book, 'The Stand', which I always thought to be a very apt description of our general attitude towards G-d. Mother Abigail, one of the protagonists in the book, has been chosen by G-d to lead a ragtag band of survivors against the evil that threatens to take over. She tells one of the band's leaders that, "Man proposes; G-d disposes." Meaning, we can ask whatever we want of G-d, cajole and exhort Him to do what we ask, but in the end He will do what needs doing regardless of how it fits into our plans and needs.
We as a people (not Jews, not Christians, but humans as a whole) have lost sight of the miraculous. Many don't know how to see it. It saddens me that they can overlook something so simple, that miracles occur around us all the time if we but look for them.
Rated. You're doing a fine job with this series, Monte. :-D