The faith
tradition in which I was raised, ordained, and served as a pastor was
established on the American frontier.
Originally known as the Restoration Movement, it came about as an
attempt to counteract divisions among Christians and corruption by clergy. Now known as the Christian Church (Disciples
of Christ), the movement sought to “restore” the Christian faith as described
and practiced in the New Testament.
There was to
be no class distinction between clergy and laity; baptism was for believers (no
infant baptism); communion was part of worship every time the people gathered;
freedom of thought was a hallmark; authority lay within congregations to
establish their own style of worship, organization, and governance; and
individuals were encouraged to read and interpret the scriptures as “the
reasonableness of the faith” led them.
During the
early days of the movement there were slogans to identify it and remind people
of what it was about. Examples were,
“Christian Unity is our Polar Star,” “No Creed but Christ, no book but the
Bible,” and “Where the scriptures speak, we speak. Where the scriptures are silent, we are
silent.”
Then there
was this one: “Bible names for Bible things.”
If you are
looking for ways to describe those who would practice some level of idolatry,
or who would allow culture to water-down the faith, turning to worldly
influences to color their worship and move toward a self-serving expression of
what it means to be a person of God, the Bible name is “a stiff-necked people.”
This term
comes up in the story of the Exodus, as God leads the people through the
wilderness toward the Promised Land. At
various points along the way, the people lament their fate, fashion idols, and
otherwise turn away from God’s provision, promises, and care. In interactions
with Moses, God calls the people “stiff-necked” on at least three occasions
(Exodus, chapters 32 and 33). Moses
himself admits as much in Exodus 34:9 -- “If now I have found favor in your
sight, my Lord, I pray, let my Lord go with us. Although this is a stiff-necked
people, pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.” Second Chronicles also makes reference to
this description of the unfaithful.
Stephen, a
newly appointed deacon, in the New Testament book, The Acts of the Apostles, is
arrested by those who feel threatened by him and his witness. Prior to the rocks being flung at him, he
says to his accusers, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and
ears, you are forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to
do.”
As one with
chronic neck soreness and stiffness, I ponder the implications regarding my own
level of authenticity in the faith!
If you happen
to watch British television shows, you may note that women in the Motherland
often refer to one another as “cows.”
Never is the term endearing or complimentary. The prophet Amos may have been the first
Brit, in spirit if not in fact. Amos had
little patience with what he perceived to be the unfaithfulness of God’s people,
especially the disregard of the poor, the orphan, the widow, or anyone else
downtrodden whose needs went unmet while God’s people enjoyed abundance and
even excess.
In one
particular rant, Amos came up with a Bible name for a Bible thing. In Chapter 4
of his prophecy, Amos spits out, “Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on
Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their
husbands, ‘Bring something to drink!’ The Lord God has sworn by his holiness:
The time is surely coming upon you when they shall take you away with hooks,
even the last of you with fishhooks.” He
goes on from there, telling of the alienation from God the “cows” soon will
experience.
While I may
not be a cow, since I am not female, I wonder about my own lack of regard for
many who are not blessed in the ways I am blessed, and how I might justify it
in my own mind. Would an appropriate
Bible name for that be “bull?”
Another Bible
name for a Bible thing is “vipers.” The
psalmist makes use of this name in Psalm 140.
John the Baptist and Jesus both call religious hypocrites a “brood of
vipers.” (see Matthew 3, 12, et. al)
John employed the term when some religious officials who were in the pocket of
Herod came to him to be baptized, and Jesus targeted similar folks who
questioned publicly his practices, such as healing on the Sabbath, in order to
make him look bad.
As a clergy
person, I and my colleagues are easy targets for those looking to discredit us
for doing or saying things antithetical to their versions of the faith. We cloth-wearers fail on many fronts, but in
most cases it’s simple human frailty with no venomous intent. Usually, but not always, I suppose. Be mindful of snakes in the ecclesiastical
grass!
“Bible names
for Bible things” envisioned by the Restoration Movement forebears generally were
a means of describing the faith and the church.
Unfortunately, the patriarchal history of Christianity lends itself to
exclusionary language: “Brethren,”
“Father (describing God),” “Kingdom (of God),” and others. Insisting
on the use of such language, in my view, diminishes the possibilities inherent
in the teachings of Jesus for wholeness, reconciliation, and peace. Only stiff-necked cows and vipers would cling
to words over making sure the love of God was made known and shared with
everyone!
In fact, it
seems to me that those who would exclude anyone should suffer the fate of
Ishmael, son of Abram and his wife Sarai’s Egyptian slave Hagar (Sarai was
unable to bear children to that point and facilitated this “arrangement.” See Genesis 16). Hagar, upon becoming pregnant, “looked with
contempt” at Sarai, tried to make a run for it when she feared Sarai’s wrath,
and subsequently heard from an “angel of the Lord” who told her to go
back. Also, according to the angel,
Hagar’s offspring would be multitudinous. Ishmael, however, would have “his
hand against everyone, and everyone’s hand against him, and he shall live at
odds with all his kin.”
All of this,
because Ishmael was destined to be “a wild ass of a man.”
Now, that’s a
Bible name if I ever heard one.
