Templeton Project: The Judgment and Utopia–Part IV
Back in October 2015 I wrote about the inauguration of the Abington Templeton Foundation (see here). The project is now underway (see here) and I will be posting our writing here.
Check out the latest piece entitled “The Judgment and Utopia–Part IV.”
See also:
- Grounds for the Project
- The Biblical Foundation – Apology
- Apology in the New Testament II
- Apology in the New Testament III
- With Gentleness and Respect
- Elect Exiles of the Dispersion – the Importance of Identity
- The Present Cultural Environment in America
- Flannery O’Connor’s ‘Push Back’
- Saint Paul’s Civility
- Unbelievers
- Christ, Culture, and Christians
- Jesus and His Opponents in the Gospel according to Saint Matthew
- The Holy Spirit as Apologist
- On Listening to God and One Another
- Deep Conviction and Commitment
- Questions Unbelievers (especially Atheists) May Ask in Dialogue
- Waning Faith and Yearning Heart
- The Apostle on Mars Hill (Areopagus)
- A Fire, a World of Unrighteousness
- Civil Blood Makes Civil Hands Unclean
- Examples of Uncivil and Civil Speech
- Of Self-Control
- Humor in Dialogue
- Utopian Dreams
- Do we understand each other?
- When We Differ
- Dialogue and Personality
- Of Anger
- Discipleship and Apologetics
- Nurturing Christian Disciples
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics I
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics II–Wise as Serpents and Innocent as Doves
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics III–Endurance
- Discipleship and Apologetics IV–Family Conflict
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics V–Doing the Will of the Father as Peacemakers
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XII–“The Tree is Known by Its Fruit”
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics VI–A Sword, Not Peace
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics VII–Repentance and the Forgiveness of Sins
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics VIII–Mission to the Gentiles
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics IX–The Parable of the Sower
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics X–“Fear not, do not be afraid
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XI–“Come to me, . . . and I will give you rest
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XIII–Humility
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XIV–Woes Turned to the Wisdom of Christ and the Blessings of the Kingdom
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XV–The Sign of the Cross
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XVI–The Resurrection
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XVII–The Judgment
- Discipleship in Matthew and Apologetics XVIII–The Vision
- Templeton Project: Inside the Heart and Mind of an Atheist
- Spare, Knowledgeable, and Wise Speech
- Truth as the Only Solid Foundation for Inquiry and Dialogue
- What is Bigotry
- What is Bigotry? Part II: Ideology
- Establishment and Distortion of the Facts
- Confused Mind and Inconstant Heart
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–John the Baptist
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–The Mother of Our Lord
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–Nicodemus
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–The Samaritan Woman
- The Need for Self-Control
- Self-control and American Culture
- Is Transformation Possible?
- Values and Virtue–the Difference
- The Coronavirus
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–The Healing of an Official’s Son
- Coronavirus Update
- A Prayer in a Time of Pandemic
- A Troubled Nation
- Articulation of the Faith in Times of Crisis
- Father Seraphim on Nihilism
- Day to Day Nihilism
- Who or What is Absurd?
- Christian Leadership
- The Power of the Invisible
- The Great Revolution
- Religious vs. Spiritual
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–The Man at the Pool of Siloam, the Blind Man, and the Dead Man
- The Ideological Use of a Virus (Covid-19)
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–His Enemies
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–His Enemies Part 2
- What Fire Cleanses?
- Babel–A Confusion of Tongues
- Babel and Jerusalem
- The American Olympians
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–Pilate
- Who and What is Evil?
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–Peter
- Gratitude, Humility, and Wonder–Key Words for Christian Living
- Encounters with Jesus in the Gospel of John–Thomas the Doubter
- The Early Christian Apologists–The Letter of Mathetes to Diognetus
- Dogma and Bigotry
- Squeeze Out the Spiritual Life–A Dictum of Our Secular Culture
- The Early Christian Apologists–Aristides
- Our Aspirations
- The Promise
- To Be Like God
- The Misuse of the Word Eternal
- The Sacred Obscure Amidst the Secular
- An Overall Idea
- Symbolism and Orthodoxy
- Witnessing and Division in the Church
- Camus, Absurdism, and the Faith of the Church
- Overcoming Evil without Being Overcome
- The State of the United States
- Did the Last Post Show Disrespect?
- With Gentleness and Respect
- Athenagoras’ A Plea for the Christians
- Defy and Deify
- At Present
- At Present Revised
- Musings during the Hours of Night
- Mysterium Tremendum–A Day at Hawk Mountain
- The Lower Yellowstone River Falls
- He Turned Aside
- Emptiness (A Sonnet)
- The Brazen Eagle Soars
- Emptiness Part II
- Lenten Reflection
- Chaos Set Right
- The Holy Sepulcher
- A Press of Leaves
- The Prairie– The Flint Hills
- The Sanctuary Light
- The World and the World
- Authority
- Two Novels
- To the Unknown God or a God Unknown
- Gospel in Saint Mark
- Evangelization in Kensington
- What is New is Old; What is Old is New
- Kensington II
- Virtual or Virtuous?
- Obstacles to Christian Witness
- Judgment and Apologetics
- Worship as Witness and Apology
- Apologetics, Apology, and Witness
- O Source and End
- It is I
- From O My God to O My God to OMG
- Water Is Thicker Than Blood
- We Rather Than I
- The Nativity
- The City of God and the City of Man
- Rules of the Community
- Mixed Together until the End
- Minucius Felix–Christian Apologist–The Problem with Hearsay
- The Will of the Father–Part I
- The Beatitudes–Part II
- Sending Out–Part III
- Confronting Nihilism
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We have been looking at Matthew 10, where Jesus sends out the Twelve on a mission to Israel in light of the coming of the Son of Man. The end of the world is the time of the judgment of God. At the beginning of the chapter Jesus instructs the disciples to enter the houses of the worthy and leave their peace with the residents. This peace is nothing less than salvation. Worthiness pertains to the willingness of the occupants of village or household to receive and listen to their apostolic visitors. Later in this chapter, we are told that the worthy are those who do not love the family more than Jesus. They who do not take up their cross are not worthy of the Son. Jesus says that the one who receives the disciple, receives Christ. In response to those who are not worthy, the disciples are to shake the dust from their feet. He follows this instruction with words of judgment: “Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.” (Matthew 10: 15 ESV) Considering what happened to the two cities of the valley, the judgment is exceedingly strong.
Jesus describes persecution of believers by family and government. Within the household, division will occur that will involve family members delivering other family members who are believers to death, presumably to government officials. In this context of conflict Jesus gives encouragement and advice. He reminds the disciples that they will be instruments of the Spirit so that they need not worry about what they will say or how they say it. Though they will be hated for Jesus’ name sake, God will reward those who endure until the end. Christ’s servants should not be surprised that they will be maligned; for, the master, Jesus Himself, is called Beelzebul (the devil).
Through all, the disciples are to declare boldly their message. He tells them not to fear those who kill the body but fear him who can kill body and soul in hell (the devil). The Father values his people. He who acknowledges Christ will be acknowledge before the Father. Those who give a disciple (called a little one) a cup of water, because he is a disciple, will receive his reward. The text is full of the idea of the judgment at the end of time, when the Son of Man returns, and of the salvation of the disciple.
Jesus is anything but utopian. Utopias are human made societies that involve no judgment of sin and do very well without God. They have never and will never exist. Utopias quickly become dystopias–nightmarish societies perverted by human sin perpetrated by both the leaders and all the citizens. Only perfect people can establish a perfect society. Jesus does not promise utopia, but persecution of the disciples and then judgment with the faithful being rewarded with the kingdom of heaven.
What can we glean from this text? Well, many things. Among them are:
- God gives us the power and strength to witness to Christ in the most adverse of circumstances.
- The Holy Spirit will give us what is necessary to say and how to say it in our apologetical task before hostile government officials.
- We are not to fear the adversary who may kill the body. We must fear the one who can kill the soul with the body, namely the devil.
- In any adversity in our mission we must remember that God cares for us.
- The Lord must be first in all things.
- “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10: 39 ESV)
- Discipleship is a most challenging call; but, it ends with Christ’s victory and our salvation.
Michael G. Tavella
SS. Timothy, Titus, and Silas
January 26, 2024