Subj:	 On the Rechabites
Date:	5/28/99 6:51:11 PM EST
From:	Woodward 

To answer your curiosity:  I've come to this present interest gradually and by degrees. But I've
always been curious to about THE questions:
Who are we?  Where did we come from?  Whither are we going?

Jeremiah, chapter 35, on some forerunners of the
Way:  "The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord..... Go unto the house of the
Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord...and give them
wine to drink....  Then I took...the whole house of the Rechabites: And I brought them into the
house of the Lord.... And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine,
and cups, and I said unto them,
Drink ye wine.  But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father
commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall
ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell
in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers....  Thus saith the Lord of
hosts, the God of Israel: Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye
not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the Lord....  I have sent unto you all my
servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from
his evil way, and amend your doings...but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. 
Therefore thus saith the Lord...I will bring upon Judah...all the evil that I have pronounced
against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto
them, but they have not answered....  And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus
saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  Because ye have obeyed the commandment of
Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath
commanded you:  Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel:  Jonadab the son of
Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.



Subj:	 After the Rechabites
Date:	5/28/99 6:55:13 PM EST
From:	Woodward 

Matthew 10: 5-10:  These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into
the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not:  But go rather to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel.  And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at
hand.... Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,  Nor scrip for your journey,
neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves:  for the workman is worthy of his hire....(cf.
Luke 10: 1-11)

From the Rechabites to the ecclesia of James.

And if I might refer you to Psalm 14:  The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.  They are
corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. / The Lord looked
down...upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. /
They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no,
not one. / Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat
bread,
and call not upon the Lord? / ...Ye have shamed the counsel of the poor, because the Lord is
his refuge....

Or as in Psalm 82:  God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
/ How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the persons of the wicked?  Selah. / Defend the
poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
/ They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness; all the foundations of
the earth are out of course. / I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most
High. / But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes....

Or as it is written in Amos 8: Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor
of the land to fail, / Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the
sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and
falsifying the balances by deceit? / That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair
of shoes: yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? / The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of
Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.





Acts 2: 44-45:  And all that believed were together, and had all things common;  And sold their
possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.... (cf. Acts 4: 32-
37)



Subj:	  Addendum
Date:	5/28/99 6:56:23 PM EST
From:	Woodward 

James 5: 1-6: Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon 
you. / Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. / Your gold and silver is
cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were
fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. / Behold, the hire of the labourers who
have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them
which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. / Ye have lived in pleasure
on the earth, and been wanton;  ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. / Ye
have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.



Subj:	 Who are the Poor?
Date:	5/28/99 7:16:26 PM EST
From:	Woodward 

So, who are the Poor that Isaiah, Amos, the Psalmist, the Gospel authors and Jesus are so
concerned with?

"Blessed are the poor IN SPIRIT: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3, emphasis
mine)

"And behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may
have eternal life? / And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. / He saith unto him,
Which?
Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou
shalt not bear false witness, / Honour thy father and thy mother: and Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. / The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth
up: what lack I yet? / Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. / But when
the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. / Then
said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the
kingdom of heaven...."
(Matt. 19: 16-23)

What is of interest here is that the Poor are "poor in spirit," that is, there is an element of
voluntarism to their poverty (a la St Francis): they have entered into poverty willingly, to follow
the Way.

Also of note, when Jesus is called good, he echoes
the Psalmist (Ps. 14: 3 and Ps. 53: 1-3): "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but
one, that is, God."  And in this saying, too, Jesus disposes of the doctrines of divinity (or God in
the flesh) and the Trinity by the very clear distinction he makes between God and himself.

But Jesus elsewhere quotes favorably Psalm 82:6 :
"I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High."

So the divinity of Jesus is divinity by adoption.
Which is too complicated to go into now and here.
But suffice it to say that the same divinity is offered the Poor (by adoption) and that the
significance of Jesus is that though no man has seen God, we may KNOW the Father by and in
the Son. It is also self-knowledge, for "...God said,
Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.... So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God created he him..." (Gen. 1:26-27)  



Subj:	A Political Economy of Scripture -- The Gospel of Wealth Creation
Date:	5/29/99 1:13:37 AM EST
From:	RGZiegler

I am not sure that 'poor in spirit' refers to material wealth at all. It may just as 
easily be interpreted to mean those who are weak and therefore not able to rise
to the level of fulfillment of the "Way" that they possibly could. But neither are they
evil. Indeed, it is these who will inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Nor do I think that Jesus was denying his divinity in the statement posed. He, as
he often does in the Gospel, was testing his inquisitors. Further, I am not at all
certain that the last part of that passage from Matthew is a condemnation of 
wealth or the wealthy, but rather an advocacy of humility.

We run into problems when we try to take scripture too literally anyway, for as you
well know it is hardly 'pure.' It has been much tampered with over the centuries.
That does not diminish its importance, but as with most reductionism, parsing it
can therefore be quite a difficulty. It is the spirit of scripture which is crucial, and I
think there is something important even in the usage of that word (spirit) to describe
what is meant by that idea. 

The very notion that one should divest himself of his wealth and give it to the poor
is anathema to the spirit of the Way. That does not suggest that the notion involved
is wrong, but it can have sundry interpretations. But the problem inherent in the
idea is that it is wealth creation that is the work of man as God's hand on earth.
Giving it to the poor is only going to condemn the multitudes to poverty and misery,
and make it impossible for man to 'subdue the earth' or to multiply adequately to 
achieve that. I am describing here a real 'political economy' of scripture that I 
suggest is the real essence of Christianity.

That essence is summed up well in Donne's no man is an island lines. The development of all is
the development of each and the development of each is
the development of all. The words achievement or wealth are among others
which could be substituted for development here. And these follow on rational
pursuit of the self interest of each, on Adam Smith. As you said, creation is
good -- wealth creation is good because it elevates man. By the same token,
evil is the alternative here. Not pursuing development, achievement, or wealth
is detrimental to the advance of humanity. And we will be called to account
to the degree we do  not pursue that quest -- although it can scarcely be held
that failure to achieve potential constitutes basis for eternal condemnation.
It is the balance or the spirit that invigorates that quest, opening the pearly gates
to the poor in spirit. Original sin has made us potentially weak, not inherently
wicked. Baptism is representative of the idea that we can rise to the level of
children of the Great Spirit through development of our reason/logos via the
political economy of the way. Perfection is a process, not a static state.

Now I am not merely posing a curious contention here. This is the essence of
Christianity (but also of Islam, which is really little more than a variation on
Christianity in many ways). I have long argued that there is this political economy
of scripture which might be identified within the rubric of a gospel of wealth creation.
Weber was not totally wrong in connecting Christianity to the spirit of capitalism,
but I think he becomes bogged down in a labored attempt to limit the spirit to some
'protestant ethic.' The ethic of capitalism is the quintessence of Christianity.
Nor does this suggest anything like storing up wealth on earth where it will only
be lost as it rusts away. The essence of this ethic is its pursuit, a categorical
imperative, by which we store up treasure in heaven where it cannot rust.
We are all intricately bound up with one another so that the death of any man
diminishes all men, so that the lack of pursuit of achievement diminishes all. 
This is the Way, the Word, of which it was charged we should be go forth onto
all nations, baptising in the name of the filoque/trinity. In his image he indeed
created him, that we might be his hands on earth -- ie, his children. And anything less would be
uncivilized!

So, do not send to ask for whom it is the bell tolls. It tolls for thee!

Ron


Subj:	 In Re Political Economy
Date:	6/1/99 8:33:59 AM EST
From:	Woodward 

Back to the "poor in spirit" of Matt. 5:3: No, the expression cannot "just as easily be interpreted
to mean those who are weak and therefore not able to rise to the level of fulfillment of the Way."
The expression means precisely the Poor, the party of Jesus, the followers who have given up
this world for the kingdom, those who recognize that "to be a friend of the world is to be at
enmity with God."

The exact expression "poor in spirit," by the way, is also employed at Qumran with the very
same sense: the Poor are those who have given up this world to follow the Way.

No, Jesus did not advocate that he who would be
"perfect" (Matt 19:16-23 again) give up his wealth indiscriminately to the first beggar he met on
the street.  No, give to the Poor, i.e., the community of Jesus and James his brother, where as
even Paul's ACTS must admit "And all that believed were together, and had all things common:
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need"
(Acts 4:32-37).

Regarding the "corruption of the text," i.e., your admonitions about not reading literally: Are you
aware that one of the very reasons the Essenes were "in exile in the wilderness," apart from their
unwavering support of the House of David, was that they claimed that the Law had been
tampered with by a priesthood corrupted during the Babylonian captivity?

"...It is wealth creation that is the work of man
as God's hand on earth."  Is it so?  And where is that written?  I do remember, though I cannot
quote the verse, that the Psalmist, as proof of his humility, remarks that he has not "trusted" in
the "work of his hands."  There are also many admonitions in the Old and New Testaments
regarding men who "worship the work of their hands."  Or who "make an idol" of the work of
their hands.  But for the Psalmist, for Jesus, and for James, it is not the work of man's hands that
is saving, no, but a trust in God, being a "friend of God" (even at the cost of being an enemy of
the World)...or, as the Psalmist said of God, "He is a sure Bulwark; his walls shall not fall."

I'll try to get back later, because the language of Rich and of Poor, as used in the prophets and
in the sayings of Jesus and James, is somewhat more complicated than what we've discussed so
far.


Subj:	 More on Political Economy
Date:	6/1/99 10:29:23 AM EST
From:	Woodward 

I wanted to get back to a further discussion of your "political economy," because you raised a
number of issues I didn't touch upon in my last.

You say: "Original Sin has made us potentially weak, not inherently wicked."  Okay, I won't
disagree with that.  You say: "Baptism is representative of the idea that we can rise to the level
of children of the Great Spirit...."  By representative, I presume you mean symbolical.
But baptism is cultic, and it does have a specific spiritual meaning -- a burial of the old man, the
birth of the new man.  Which is why a new Christian name was given, in ancient times, at
baptism.  But where I WOULD disagree with your formulation on baptism is IF you truly
believe that "rising to the level of children of the Great Spirit" is ONLY symbolic.  Which is what
your wording seems to imply.  If so, I can only answer that it is written, "I have said, Ye are
gods; and all of you are children of the most High" 
(Ps. 82:6).  Now, I would read THAT text literally.

Now, where you launch into your "gospel of wealth creation," I can follow your view that the
creation of wealth is Good, and to be desired,
insofar as that wealth is used to benefit all.
But to say that the "ethic of capitalism is the quintessence of Christianity" strikes me as, well,
obscene.  I know that you are probably going to make a distinction between finance and
industrial capitalism.  But make it, if need be.  Otherwise, I would have to place the finance
capitalist nearest God -- by your formulation.

But with or without your distinction, you'll have to write your own TEXT to justify the thought
that "the ethic of capitalism" is one with "Christianity."  Unless you mean Paul's church.
If you mean Jesus, James, Simeon bar Cleophas or Judas Thomas or the Jerusalem Community,
or Qumran, then No.

Wealth, over-and-above subsistence, isn't evil or good.  It is the USE to which wealth is placed
that is crucial and the physical and spiritual impact that USE has on people.   



Subj:	 James the Just
Date:	6/1/99 1:15:28 PM EST
From:	Woodward 

The martyrdom of James the brother of the Lord in 62 A.D. as told in Eusebius'
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY, Jerome's OF ILLUSTRIOUS MEN and Josephus' JEWISH
WARS:

Now the servants of the High Priest approached James in the Temple and said unto him,
"Rabbi, you are just, and no respecter of persons, and we are all obliged to honor your word. 
The people are being misled concerning Jesus and all are going astray. Please mount the
pinnacle of the Temple and speak to them."  Now when James had climbed the steps to the
pinnacle, the Pharisees called out to him, "O Just one, what is the meaning of the Door of
Jesus?"  And James, with as loud a voice as he could muster, replied, "Why do you ask me
concerning the Son of Man?  I see Him coming on the clouds with Power and Judgement." 
Now at this word from James, the people rejoiced and cried out, "Hosannah to the House of
David."  But the priests drew together, saying, "We have made a serious mistake in allowing
James to provide testimony for Jesus.  Let us cast him down so as to strike fear in the people." 
And with one voice, the priests cried out, "Even the Just has gone astray," and they rushed
James, threw him down from the pinnacle, and stoned him.  

And immediately the Romans began to besiege them.....



Subj:	 Postscript to James
Date:	6/1/99 1:20:26 PM EST
From:	Woodward 

I should have added that in recording the Pharisees' words, "Let us throw him down," and "Even
the Just has gone astray," that Jerome says, in parenthesis, "Thus was fulfilled the words of
Isaiah, 'Let us kill the righteous man, for he is not profitable to us.' "



Subj:	 In Summary
Date:	6/3/99 2:45:45 PM EST
From:	Woodward 

Here is what I can discern from my reading as to the teaching of the primitive church:

1.  There is one God, unbegotten, undivided, eternal, and the Father of the worlds who
fashioned Adam "in his image."  Though no man has seen God, God the Father is KNOWN in
the Son and God's Holy Spirit is ever present and active among
men.

2. Jesus became the Son of God by God's grace and
ADOPTION on the very day of his baptism in the Jordan by John.  Hence in the lost or
suppressed Gospel according to the Hebrews, by Jerome's testimony, when Jesus is baptized,
the Father says
"Thou art my FIRST begotten Son" and, again, "THIS
day have I begotten thee."  All men are similarly
Sons, and potential heirs to the Kingdom, as it is
written in Ps. 82:6:  "I have said, YE ARE GODS; and all of you are children of the most High."

3. There was no Virgin Birth, but Jesus had a human family.  He had a father named Cleophas,
also called Joseph (which may have been an honorific title, linking him to the patriarch Joseph of
Egypt in Genesis).  He had a mother named Miriam or Mariammne (hence, our English Mary). 
He had brothers: Jacob the Just (ie, James
in English); Simeon (also known as Cephas in Aramaic, Peter in Greek, and perhaps too as
Simon
the Canaanean or Simon Zelotes in apostle lists);
Judas (called variously Didymus Judas Thomas, where the Latin Didymus and Greek Thomas
signify
"twin," which reflects the Syrian church tradition of Judas as the twin brother of Jesus, and
referred to in apostle lists and various Syrian
traditions as Thaddeus, Lebbaeus, Theudas, Addai,
Judas Zelotes).  Jesus had sisters, also, at least
one of which is traditionally named Salome.

4. Jesus led the Poor, his followers in the Way, until his Ascension unto the Father.  James the
Just then assumed the Throne in Jerusalem and ruled the Poor, according to the will of Jesus as
expressed before his death and resurrection.  Simeon bar Cleophas, i.e., the son of Cleophas,
led the Poor in their flight from Jerusalem to Pella beyond the Jordan after the martyrdom of
James.  Simeon ruled thereafter until his own crucifixtion at the hands of the Romans in
Caesarea Philippi, not in Rome.  This is the true
succession of the Church.

5. Jesus claimed descent from the House of David
and hence his preaching that "The Kingdom is at hand" addressed two expectations:  the
opening of
the Heavenly Kingdom of the Father and the restoration of the Earthly Kingdom of the House of
David in Jerusalem. The Heavenly Kingdom is one with God, and eternal, having existed before
the
creation.  The Earthly Kingdom, or the restored House of David in Jerusalem, will be realized
upon the Parousia, or Second Coming, when Jesus shall
reign for one thousand years.

6. The Great Day of Judgement in which each shall be judged "according to his works" is
presided over by Jesus the Son of Man and will follow the
fulfillment of the Parousia.  On the Great Day,
the Poor in the Way shall be granted eternal life
in accordance with their works; others, who have
"not heard" when God spoke and who have "not answered" when God called, shall be cast out
to the utter limits of darkness.

7. What is saving?  It is the works that one does in accordance with the Law, for on the Great
Day
the Son will judge each "according to his works."
Faith or belief, while necessary, is not sufficient, for "even the devils believe there is one God
and tremble."  One must not only HEAR the
Word but DO the Word, i.e., fulfill the Law.

8. The commandment is to walk straight in the Way
of the Law, turning neither left nor right. "For
narrow is the Way that leads to life and broad is the Way that leads to destruction."  What is the
Law?  It is the Royal Law which is contained in the Piety commandment, "Love God," and in
the Righteousness commandment, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."  For "upon these two points,"
said Jesus, "hangs the whole of the Law."

the Hebrews



Subj:	Re: In Summary
Date:	6/3/99 3:06:04 PM EST
From:	RGZiegler

Hey Jeff,

It is far too early for 'summaries,' but I have not had the chance to respond to your
previous email which contain some grevious questions, from your vision of the 'poor'
to the ethic of capitalism. I think you are missing some fundamental points. The
issue is not finance capital vs industrial capital -- that is far too simplistic, and 
either may be 'closer to God'. I will address these matters asap. It may be, in the end, that
Christianity does not stand the test. I am not convinced of that, however 
-- at least in terms of 'my' christianity. It may be a relic of history, but I don't think so.
Tonight, Alec has his final hockey game of the spring season, but I will be entering
some comment. And is 'essene' the source of the popular (in some circles) 
expression 'hey, esse!'?

Ron



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