James 2:1-Admonition Contra Partiality (Greek Semantics and Syntax)

Greek: Ἀδελφοί μου, μὴ ἐν προσωπολημψίαις ἔχετε τὴν πίστιν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης;

The opening part of this verse reflects James' favorite way to address his readers; it suggests the close relationship he shared with them (Ἀδελφοί μου).

μὴ ἐν προσωπολημψίαις ἔχετε-James 2:1 might either be expressing a rhetorical query or a prohibition. See Dan G. McCartney, James, pages 134-135 (BECNT Series).

μὴ occurs here with the indicative mood (ἔχετε) and a nominal that is dative plural feminine (προσωπολημψίαις); furthermore, the nominal word appears as part of a prepositional phrase.

BDAG: προσωπολημψία, ας, ἡ ⟦prosōpolēmpsía⟧ (edd. also -ληψία; s. προσωπο-λημπτέω) partiality named as a sin, w. other sins Pol 6:1. Not found in God (TestJob 43:13) Ro 2:11; Eph 6:9; Col 3:25. Pl. τὴν πίστιν ἔχειν ἐν προσωπολημψί-αις hold the faith while showing partiality Js 2:1 (Goodsp, Probs. 142f).—EDNT. TW.

The direct object of ἔχετε is τὴν πίστιν, which is modified by the genitival construct, τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τῆς δόξης. 

Link for Open Access Book About Justin Martyr and His Dialogue With Trypho

See https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/oa-mono/10.4324/9781351243490/jews-heretics-matthijs-den-dulk

Many thanks to a reader and friend (Roman) for alerting me and others to this book.

Revelation 1:3 (Rogers and Rogers Comments)

Greek: μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας καὶ τηροῦντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα, ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς.

"Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written therein for the time is at hand" (Revelation 1:3 KJV)

anadiplosis in James 1:3-4

Greek: γινώσκοντες ὅτι τὸ δοκίμιον ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως κατεργάζεται ὑπομονήν·ἡ δὲ ὑπομονὴ ἔργον τέλειον ἐχέτω, ἵνα ἦτε τέλειοι καὶ ὁλόκληροι, ἐν μηδενὶ λειπόμενοι.

Definition for anadiplosis: "repetition in the first part of a clause or sentence of a prominent word from the latter part of the preceding clause or sentence, usually with a change or extension of meaning."

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/anadiplosis

See also James 1:19-20; 26-27. 

In James 1:3-4, the prominent word is "endurance" (ὑπομονήν and ἡ ὑπομονὴ)

Sources:

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/bitstreams/f7fa7aa5-b1ca-4d2f-904d-724a89651357/download

https://diu.edu/documents/jlcr/jlcr-3.1-2022.pdf

Richard A. Lanham. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, 1991. Second Edition, Page 10.

Two Books I Love (Recommended Works About Aquinas and The Universe)-Images

Articles About Psalm 2:7 (Eternal Generation?)

Some Trinitarians attempt to invoke Psalm 2:7 as proof for their eternal generation doctrine. However, when the verse is read in context, this application of scripture to a doctrine seems like one big stretch. 

For some informative discussions, see the following:

https://www.thetorah.com/article/psalm-2-is-the-messiah-the-son-of-god

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/scottish-journal-of-theology/article/abs/psalm-27-and-the-concept-of/38E35D8CE5AF5718E0C3645047F93D8B

https://dbts.edu/2019/03/11/is-christs-receipt-of-life-in-himself-john-526-proof-of-eternal-generation/

https://www.atsjats.org/tornalejo-reexamining-the-eternal-generation-of-the-son-ats-2016.pdf

Ephesians 3:11-"Eternal Purpose"?

Two definitions given for the word "purpose" are:

A) "the reason for which something exists or is done, made, used, etc."

Synonyms: target, objective, object, rationale, point

B) "an intended or desired result; end; aim; goal."

See https://www.dictionary.com/browse/purpose

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that Jehovah God has an eternal purpose: he initially made the earth to be inhabited by righteous people. That was his original telos. But although Adam and Eve sinned and that purpose has not been realized yet, we believe it will be fulfilled since God's word cannot return to him "void" and God cannot lie (Isaiah 55:10-11; Titus 1:2; Hebrews 6:18). However, some have criticized this way of framing, articulating, and thinking about what God does, is doing, and will do. Hence, do Witnesses have a sound basis for believing that God has an eternal purpose?

Ephesians 3:11 in Greek: κατὰ πρόθεσιν τῶν αἰώνων ἣν ἐποίησεν ἐν τῷ χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ ἡμῶν,

C.H. Talbert writes (Ephesians and Colossians, pp. 99-100):

"This divine purpose—the reunification of the cosmos—now made known to the unruly powers is an eternal purpose, which he accomplished by means of the Christ, Jesus our Lord (en tō Christō, understood instrumentally, that is, by his death; Hoehner 2002, 464), by means of whom (en hō, understood instrumentally) we continually have boldness and access with confidence (cf. Heb 4:16; 10:19) through his faithfulness (3:11–12; pisteōs autou understood as a subjective genitive, thus Christ’s faithfulness; Foster 2002)."

Other commentaries and sources likewise point out that Ephesians 3:11 is talking about an eternal purpose formed in Christ or a purpose of the ages. Compare Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16. We have good reason for believing that God long ago formed an eternal purpose that will be fulfilled. 

Open Access Book: From Erasmus to Maius (The History of Codex Vaticanus in New Testament Textual Scholarship)

 https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783111453651/html

Making Righteous Judgments (Modified Talk)

The Insight book makes this illuminating observation about Jehovah’s righteousness:

“Jehovah himself is called ‘the abiding place of righteousness.’ (Jeremiah 50:7) He is therefore the Righteous One, and all righteousness on the part of his creatures comes from their relationship with him.”

While tonight’s material specifically applies to congregation elders, we all have the ability to learn about Bible principles that can help us to make righteous judgments in imitation of Jehovah.

The inspired writer Moses outlines the first Bible principle we're concentrating on tonight in Deuteronomy 16:18-19. (Read)

Firstly, elders must be impartial when making judgments (Acts 10:34-35). Bribes/favors should not be allowed to pervert justice or make us blind to wrongdoing and corruption. Nor should special treatment be shown to someone because of his/her race, ethnicity, familial relationship or socioeconomic status: we should be impartial like our God.

Secondly, elders must establish the facts when judging within the congregation. Notice Deuteronomy 17:4-6. (Read)

God adhered to this principle by presenting his Son to the world as mankind’s Savior. Jesus said: “In your own Law it is written, ‘The witness of two men is true.’ I am one that bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”​—John 8:17, 18.

Thirdly, elders should get help for difficult cases of judgment. Deuteronomy 17:8-9 applied to ancient priests and judges. Similarly, elders may consult other elders, the circuit overseer or the branch. There is wisdom in a multitude of counselors (Proverbs 15:22).

Conditional and Counterfactual Statements (Logic)

Truth-functional logic is one of those funny things wherein two components of a conditional statement (P & Q) might be false, but yet the entire conditional statement would still be true. The Philonian interpretation of conditional statements teaches us that a conditional utterance is only false when the antecedent (P) is true, but the consequent (Q) is false.

For instance, "If all bachelors are married, then Immanuel [a bachelor] is married" is only false when the antecedent is true, but the consequent is false. Hence, although both parts of the statement could be false, the statement as a whole would still be true according to the Philonian interpretation of conditional statements. 

On the other hand, the truth value of counterfactual statements is ascertained on a case-by-case basis. The truth value of "If it were the case that P, then it would be the case that Q," can be sorted out by looking at substitution instances of contrary to fact P and Q utterances; in other words, we're now differentiating between material implication and strict implication.

David Lewis distinguishes counterfactual operators from modal operators. What I believe Lewis wants to say is that there's a difference between "If horses were wishes, then beggars would ride" and "If horses were wishes, then beggars might ride." I should say that he's making a distinction between "would" and "might" counterfactuals since both verbs are modal.

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/dialectical-school/

Appreciating the Longest Psalm and Biblical Genealogies

Written back in 2014:

I recently had a gentleman tell me that the 119th psalm is "awful" (or something to that effect) since it's long (176 verses) and it keeps mentioning laws, statutes, reminders (etc.). He just could not make sense of this psalm. I tried to reason with him on the purpose(s) of this biblical song; it elevates God's Torah and teaches us the value of divine guidance, but admittedly, trying to read this psalm or any other without some background can be tough.

At one Witness school I attended, we were given the assignment (some years ago) of reading a chunk of 1 Chronicles along with other scriptures. Now keep in mind that this chapter is nothing but genealogy, and it would have been the first time I had read that section of the Bible. I remember looking at the assignment, closing my book, and reading something else. No way was I going to read an ongoing list of men who begat other men who begat . . .

I now appreciate those parts that were once considered boring. Having some background information for "dry" parts of Scripture immeasurably enriches one's reading, so be patient and keep at it, if you can sympathize with the man mentioned at the outset.

Christ Qua ἱλάσμος For "Our Sins" (1 John 2:1-2)

In 1 John 2:1-2, the apostle professes that Christ is ἱλάσμος for "our sins," but not for "ours" alone. To demonstrate the referent of the pronoun "our," I believe some good verses to adduce would be the following:

"But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge" (1 John 2:20 ESV).

"As for you, the anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don't need for anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him" (1 John 2:27 WEB).

"beloved, now, children of God are we, and it was not yet manifested what we shall be, and we have known that if he may be manifested, like him we shall be, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2 YLT)

1 John 3:2 is a complex scripture, but it seems that the most likely explanation of the passage is that it references the Father, whom anointed Christians will one day "beatifically" see.

Romans 8:38-39 ("nor angels")

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-9 NRSV).

I've heard it suggested that the angels who cannot separate Christians from God's love in Christ Jesus are not demons, but holy angels. Or some claim they're possibly "angelic" humans in the ecclesia. However,  Paul evidently uses the word "angels" sometimes to reference demons. See 1 Corinthians 4:9; 6:3; 11:10; 13:1; 2 Corinthians 11:14. Compare the usage in 2 Corinthians 12:7; Galatians 1:8; 4:14.

Douglas Moo (The Epistle to the Romans, page 545):

Words of the Month (July 2024)

1. Aphaeresis-The Encyclopedia of Rhetoric defines this term as "a subtractive metaphoneme that omits sounds at the beginning of a word." An example of this device is found in Shakespeare: "Use every man after his desert, and who should 'scape whipping?" (Hamlet 2.2.529-530)

2. Occasionalism-Malebranche and al-Ghazali apparently held to this line of thought. Simply put, it  teaches that God makes our thoughts and bodily motions coincide and that God is the only cause of our mental and somatic activities.

SEP: "A full-blown occasionalist, like Malebranche, then, might be described as one who subscribes to the following two tenets: (1) the positive thesis that God is the only genuine cause; (2) the negative thesis that no creaturely cause is a genuine cause but at most an occasional cause."

3. Inter alios/inter alia-See https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inter%20alios