The Contemporary English Version of the Bible gives the title, “Jesus is Greater than Moses” for the passage in Hebrew 3:1-6. The Good News Bible too took that line. The more popular New International Version is no different. This, for me, betrays the present Christian perception of Judaism. Not every Christian, I have reasons to believe, would subscribe to this erroneous belief that only reveals Christian arrogance and ignorance of other religious faiths.
The Ecumenical Tamil translation is still worse. This speaks of “Jesus is Greater than Moses and Joshua”. Joshua is not even mentioned in that passage. Some may differ. Considering Joshua’s part of Moses’ team that directed the people of God, they will argue, the Tamil is precise!
Bible nowhere mentions that Jesus is greater than Buddha or Muhammad. Yet, many Christians conclude this way. For them, Christian faith is not possible, not relevant, without that conclusion.
I find this way of talking about Jesus as “greater” than Moses, Joshua, Buddha, Confucius, or Muhammad is not very conducive in the contemporary global village. For me it is a sign of ignorance and spiritual immaturity. This is true in the context of the growing awareness of “religious pluralism” and the increasing alertness with regard to the “serious content of people’s faith”.
Judaism is a living religion practiced by millions in Israel and elsewhere. My student Rivka, probably in her early twenties, takes pride in her Jewish Faith that celebrates Moses as the greatest of all the prophets and the most faithful of all the servants of God! Can I tell her that my Jesus is greater than her Moses? Can I consider such a telling part of Christian love?
These questions may lead to further unsettling questions that may have to be taken seriously before I settle down in my “faith” promoted in the book of Hebrews, a letter written by a Christian of the first century in the Common Era. To the exploring of such questions I will add the need to listen to Rivka, and her friends, of what they are learning about the Christian missionary activities in places such as Kenya.
I am aware of others who may encourage dismissing such questions and concerns as evil thoughts, promoting of doubts, or as attempts “to scratch the itches of our culture”. I am aware of their good intent. Their concern often is that such questioning lead to “stubbornness”, “hardening of heart” that happened to the crowd that followed Moses thirty five hundred years ago.
I am one of those – to put the record straight – who has no time to scratch the itches of the contemporary consumer culture. I proudly announce my inclination for being and becoming counter cultural. I believe the present world needs many more to resist the dominant culture and its value systems.
But I do not apologize for questioning the folly of Christian arrogance. My critique of Christian superiority emerges from my desire to provide a healthy soul to the global village. The values of that man from Nazareth two millenniums ago, I firmly believe, still can provide inspiration.
In the context of these concerns and questions someone may be “inspired” to re-write the text. Else, the text will be rejected as irrelevant to my times, twenty first century. The other alternative is to “re-interpret” this first century text to make it relevant to my times.
There is one thing for sure. I cannot use the first century language, or logic, to speak of Jesus Christ in the twenty first century. I need a new language and a new logic that will emerge only from a serious discontent with the old meaning.
The purpose of the writer, particularly in chapter three, as I see, is not to establish the superiority of Jesus over Moses. But he is speaking of a “new grace (from God)”. For him there is a new moment in the Jesus event. He is struggling to communicate this to the Hebrew people steeped in Moses tradition.
The writer is aware that all humans whether they lived during the time of Moses, or in his own time – to this I will add my own present time, the twenty first century – are prone to “stubbornness”, hardening of heart, when the call to “change”, or a new way of living is offered.
People, I have seen it many times, settle down in set patterns of living. It is not that easy to get them out of that settled life! These days I see this in the stores in the mall. At present only a few uses the new self-checkout electronic equipments in Super Store and Wal-Mart. These self-checkout stations save time providing “potentials for greater life”.
I am not talking about the benefits of electronics, or technology. But people have difficulty in making a shift. That was the problem during the time of Moses. And it was the same with the first century audience of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. It is the same problem with people of my time. They are settled not to ask serious questions regarding spirituality. But these questions are urgent for retaining faith in the context of the rapidly emerging contemporary religious pluralism.
The Ecumenical Tamil translation is still worse. This speaks of “Jesus is Greater than Moses and Joshua”. Joshua is not even mentioned in that passage. Some may differ. Considering Joshua’s part of Moses’ team that directed the people of God, they will argue, the Tamil is precise!
Bible nowhere mentions that Jesus is greater than Buddha or Muhammad. Yet, many Christians conclude this way. For them, Christian faith is not possible, not relevant, without that conclusion.
I find this way of talking about Jesus as “greater” than Moses, Joshua, Buddha, Confucius, or Muhammad is not very conducive in the contemporary global village. For me it is a sign of ignorance and spiritual immaturity. This is true in the context of the growing awareness of “religious pluralism” and the increasing alertness with regard to the “serious content of people’s faith”.
Judaism is a living religion practiced by millions in Israel and elsewhere. My student Rivka, probably in her early twenties, takes pride in her Jewish Faith that celebrates Moses as the greatest of all the prophets and the most faithful of all the servants of God! Can I tell her that my Jesus is greater than her Moses? Can I consider such a telling part of Christian love?
These questions may lead to further unsettling questions that may have to be taken seriously before I settle down in my “faith” promoted in the book of Hebrews, a letter written by a Christian of the first century in the Common Era. To the exploring of such questions I will add the need to listen to Rivka, and her friends, of what they are learning about the Christian missionary activities in places such as Kenya.
I am aware of others who may encourage dismissing such questions and concerns as evil thoughts, promoting of doubts, or as attempts “to scratch the itches of our culture”. I am aware of their good intent. Their concern often is that such questioning lead to “stubbornness”, “hardening of heart” that happened to the crowd that followed Moses thirty five hundred years ago.
I am one of those – to put the record straight – who has no time to scratch the itches of the contemporary consumer culture. I proudly announce my inclination for being and becoming counter cultural. I believe the present world needs many more to resist the dominant culture and its value systems.
But I do not apologize for questioning the folly of Christian arrogance. My critique of Christian superiority emerges from my desire to provide a healthy soul to the global village. The values of that man from Nazareth two millenniums ago, I firmly believe, still can provide inspiration.
In the context of these concerns and questions someone may be “inspired” to re-write the text. Else, the text will be rejected as irrelevant to my times, twenty first century. The other alternative is to “re-interpret” this first century text to make it relevant to my times.
There is one thing for sure. I cannot use the first century language, or logic, to speak of Jesus Christ in the twenty first century. I need a new language and a new logic that will emerge only from a serious discontent with the old meaning.
The purpose of the writer, particularly in chapter three, as I see, is not to establish the superiority of Jesus over Moses. But he is speaking of a “new grace (from God)”. For him there is a new moment in the Jesus event. He is struggling to communicate this to the Hebrew people steeped in Moses tradition.
The writer is aware that all humans whether they lived during the time of Moses, or in his own time – to this I will add my own present time, the twenty first century – are prone to “stubbornness”, hardening of heart, when the call to “change”, or a new way of living is offered.
People, I have seen it many times, settle down in set patterns of living. It is not that easy to get them out of that settled life! These days I see this in the stores in the mall. At present only a few uses the new self-checkout electronic equipments in Super Store and Wal-Mart. These self-checkout stations save time providing “potentials for greater life”.
I am not talking about the benefits of electronics, or technology. But people have difficulty in making a shift. That was the problem during the time of Moses. And it was the same with the first century audience of the writer of the letter to the Hebrews. It is the same problem with people of my time. They are settled not to ask serious questions regarding spirituality. But these questions are urgent for retaining faith in the context of the rapidly emerging contemporary religious pluralism.
