Il est important de prendre conscience que les notions théologiques dans la Bible sont évolutives. Si on utilise la Bible a des fins spirituelles, ce qui est mon cas ici, je considère que dans l’Ancien Testament la vérité progresse vers la révélation du Christ. Ainsi la notion théologique de crainte elle aussi évolue, elle n’est Read More …
Dieu nous a-t-il fait pour le craindre ?
Cela peut sembler paradoxal à des chrétiens traditionalistes, mais Dieu nous a fait comme des êtres désirants. Le désir, c’est la vie disent les psys ! Et ils ont raison. Il ne disent rien de mieux que ce que dit la Bible depuis Genèse 2,23-25 jusqu’au Cantique des cantiques… La peur quant à elle, si Read More …
Les leçons du passé
Cette série d’article est née à la suite d’un message que j’ai entendu dans une session d’enseignement qui parlait de la crainte de Dieu comme d’une bonne chose que nous devrions cultiver dans l’Église. Je me suis alors demandé quel est le but d’un message sur la « crainte » de Dieu ? Évidement tout Read More …
Un chrétien peut-il faire de la politique ?
Un chrétien peut-il faire de la politique ? Question : Un chrétien peut-il faire de la politique ? En effet peut-être que par son action visible dans la société il pourrait avoir une influence sur la société et proclamer le message de Jésus ? Stéphane
1Timothée 2,12 détail de traduction
1Timothée 2,12 – un détail de traduction Question : En 1Timothée 2,12 certaines versons de la bible traduisent: Je ne permets pas à la femme d’enseigner, ni de dominer l’homme ; qu’elle demeure dans le silence (NBS). quand d’autre traduisent : Je ne permets pas à la femme d’enseigner en prenant le dessus sur l’homme Read More …
Jacob devait-il aller en Égypte ? Ou comment percevoir « la volonté » de Dieu.
Etait-ce la volonté de Dieu que Jacob aille en Egypte ? Question : Voici un passage qui m’a interpellé : Josué 24,3-6 J’ai pris Abraham, votre père, de l’autre côté du Fleuve et je lui ai fait parcourir tout Canaan ; j’ai multiplié sa descendance et je lui ai donné Isaac. J’ai donné à Isaac Read More …
Qu’est-ce que la « saine doctrine »
Qu’est ce que la « saine doctrine » ? Question : Qu’est-ce que la saine doctrine dont parle la Bible ? A quel moment est-ce qu’on « sort » de la saine doctrine ? Margaux
Conclusion 3: Eternal life… at last!
If my thesis is correct, eternal life (ζωὴ αἰώνιος – zoè aiônios) is specifically what follows judgement. But it is possible that this expression refers to the afterlife in a global meaning. Nevertheless we have seen that this kind of life is prepared (John 14,2-3) for those who build a relationship with God. This relationship Read More …
Conclusion 2: The general pattern
After all that have been said, you can understand why I choose to talk about an immediate afterlife being She’ol first, followed by resurrection, itself followed by judgement. It seems to be the general pattern proposed by the Bible even if it doesn’t look like the general popular thinking that presents afterlife beginning by a Read More …
Conclusion 1: Build your afterlife… now!
If we go back to the parable of the rich and the poor Lazarus (Luke 16,19-31) that we already studied, it is interesting to follow the dialogue between the rich and Abraham. There are three parts in it: First, Lazarus is complaining as he suffers torments. He asks for mercy, this same mercy he did Read More …
Conclusion about judgement: don’t fear but fight
Beginning with this idea that judgement is necessary to establish justice and that in this world there is no visible justice at least not at a divine level, OT authors understood judgement to be an eschatological event. They asked God to do justice for them, to defend their cause, to save them form deceitful people Read More …
Different views of judgement
From what we have said in the three previous articles we can discern that: 1/ A basic judgement that would consist of weighing good and bad works seems ruled out. God’s justice is not about moral deeds (even if it leads to moral decisions) because morality does not offer clear and stable rules that allow Read More …
God’s judgement in the New Testament (2)
We continue by exmaining Paul’s view of judgement: The first generation of Christians thought that Jesus return and thus God’s judgement was close. The questions the Thessalonians asked Paul that he answered in 1Thessalonians 4 that we already studied shows it (but many other passages reveal it too). But as years and decades rolled by, Read More …
God’s judgement in the New Testament (1)
The whole of the New Testament refers or allude to the Last Judgement: of the 27 books, only Paul’s letter to Philemon does not mention it. Most of the descriptions of judgement talks about what happens for followers, but few passages describe what the reality of lost souls will be: it sometimes uses frightening but Read More …
God’s judgement in the Old Testament
I entitled this section « Testing or formality », because it is a good way to express the paradoxical (we could also says dialectical) view of judgement in the Bible. The way our reference book talks about jugement, seems to be conflictual. But when we analyze how to reconcile the different views that are expressed by biblical Read More …
Conclusion about resurrection
It is important to notice that in Jewish and pagan worlds resurrection was thought through a wide range of speculations but in early christianity, whatever the movement (a united first church is a myth), resurrection was a quite clear doctrine (which could have been considered as a modified pharisaic doctrine). It is important because in Read More …
Teachings from Paul about resurrection
Because the Cross/Resurrection couple is so important for Paul, he speaks about it very often, directly or indirectly. To try to get an overview of Paul’s teaching about resurrection , we will focus on one1 major biblical reference: 1Thessalonians 4,13-18 and I will mention others when necessary to assist us in understanding the difficulties of this Read More …
Teaching from Jesus about resurrection
Jesus (like the pharisees, but unlike the Sadducees) preaches the resurrection from the dead. But, unlike pharisees, his teaching splits resurrection in two steps: his own resurrection (we already talked about it) as a first step and the eschatological résurrection as a second step. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew/Mark/Luke) Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection is Read More …
Teaching from Jesus’ resurrection (2)
Bodily resurrection One of the principles we must hold most firmly is this one: He is the firstborn from the dead (Colossians 1,18 – Revelation 1,5). That means that by following his faith and spiritual example, we will also be born from the dead. When the risen Jesus met the disciples on the road of Read More …
Teaching from Jesus’ resurrection (1)
The turning point of all christian theology The turning point of all christian theology is the resurrection of Jesus. Mainly for two reasons: 1/ Remember Daniel 12: within Judaism, resurrection has been thought as an event for the end of time (i.e. it is what theologians call an eschatological event) so it was seldom the Read More …