esther & MN and the resurrection???

Gladwin Joseph (josephg@ccmail.orst.edu)
Thu, 19 Mar 1998 12:43:59 -0800

Eureka!
For the first time in my ministry I preached tonight on a text
from Esther. There are 2 generally recognized features of this book
1) A major theme is providence - "Who knows whether you have
not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
2) The Hebrew text is quite UNreligious - there is no mention
of God, prayer, or any religious practices.
Put them all together, they spell "Methodological Naturalism" -
what happens in the world, including the preservation of Israel, can be
understood in secular terms, though there is the implicit faith that it
is the Lord who is at work in all of that.
Maybe this is why Esther is in the Bible - "Who knows whether it
has not come to the canon for such a time as this?"
George

I guess even the Resurrection of Jesus can be explained in
naturalistic terms as is done by the demythologizers. But it
is amazing that God in Christ chose to reveal Himself
in the Resurrected Body to only a few. He could have
appeared in the Sanhedrin and probably converted the nation
of Isreal. However since GOD respects the freedom He gives
us His creatures HE apparently does not give us a knock
down proof for belief.

Any comments?

Shalom

Gladwin

-- George L. Murphygmurphy@imperium.nethttp://www.imperium.net/~gmurphy