WHO was Jesus’ Father?*********************
Something the Archbishop of Canterbury is reported to have said has rankled me and has me more than a little disturbed.
The article from the “timesonline” says:
“He (The Archbishop of Canterbury) said he was committed to belief in the Virgin Birth “as part of what I have inherited”. But belief in the Virgin Birth should not be a “hurdle” over which new Christians had to jump before they were accepted.” From the artilce at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3076008.ece
Now, wait a minute!!! The Archbishop is a "learned man” but, in my opinion, you certainly couldn’t discern that from the paragraph above!
Now, before I go on, let me declare, up front, that I am not ”a preacher”, a pastor, a minister, a bishop, or anything other than a layman Christian who happens to be a Lutheran on the “outs” with his OWN church… as well as with any church infected with Leftist theology. I have wrestled with bishops in the past. Some I became friends with, while others… well, lets not go there!
Look, for those of you outside the Christian faith and even to those of you inside the Christian faith (these days) it is absolutely necessary that you believe the Virgin Birth happened. Why? Because without the Virgin Birth, then who exactly WAS the father of Jesus. If any entity other than God, by the Holy Spirt, impregnated Mary, then Jesus is NOT God’s Son… and… as those of us who believe in the Holy Trinity proclaim, Jesus is NOT God, who came to us in human flesh and lived among us as a true man.
Taking it further, who was it, then, who was crucified? Who was it, then, who was buried… and what happened to the body of that entombed person when the tomb was found empty three days later? If the Virgin Birth did not happen, then Jesus did not rise from the dead. He couldn’t have! If the ressurection did not occur then we Christians have bought into a horrible hoax which was perpetrated on mankind for… what end?
This is serious stuff!
Look, I admire Joseph, Jesus’ earthly father…. as we Christians have been taught for a little over 2, 000 years. It took great courage to do what he did with a pregnant teenager as his wife. Not many men, then or now, would have that kind of courage. I do not believe Joseph married Mary because the baby was his. No! I think he married Mary because he believed she was bearing the Messiah and his mission was to care for her and the infant Son of God. Joseph must have wrestled with misgivings and with outright doubt from time to time, but he did what was right and proper and what God knew he WOULD do. But he was NOT the father of Jesus. Not in the Christian faith!
And there is where I feel the good Archbishop used poor judgment in what he said in the quote above. For, plainly put: if one does not believe in the Virgin Birth, then one cannot be a Christian. The archbishop is just plain WRONG!
The summation of what Christians believe is the Nicene Creed quoted by Anglican Congregations at most every service, also by Episcopals and Lutherans. It reads as follows:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became truly human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father [and the Son], who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, who has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
That is the crux of the Christian faith. Notice the affirmation of the Virgin Birth.
If one wishes to explore the reasons for the terrible crisis the church finds itself in today, one need look no farther than the Princes of the Church many of whom need, desperately, to re-accquaint themselves with the Christian faith they have so ruinously led.
Longstreet
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Longstreet. The world will shun you, mock you, and try to make you the fool. But God will bless you for holding firm to the faith. Sadly, when I was in seminary there were far more “theologians” like the Archbishop than like you. That explains why Christianity in the UK, and in Europe, is in such a sad state of decay!
ReplyDeleteThanks for those comments.
ReplyDeleteIt is frightening to watch the church disintergrate right before one's eyes.... even when one knows what is happening.
The scriptures tell us, plainly, there will be only a "remnant" left. Never thought much about that 'til the last couple of decades. Now, it has become abundantly clear what is meant by remnant! What is even more chilling is to watch those around that remnant melting away.
Merry Christmas!
Longstreet