The Murder of God (Deicide) and the Salvation of Man

Nietzsche called the greatest of all sins to be the murder of God (deicide). There was nothing more sinful than that. On the reverse, the greatest of all righteousness fulfilled was in the self-giving of the Son of God. This self-giving brought an end to the history of hostility between man and God. It cancelled all debts. Man had committed the greatest of all crimes, and God had allowed it to be done to Him in the ultimate divine sacrifice. The Cross was where Justice and Love met vis-à-vis. It was where man affirmed his estrangement and God affirmed His belongedness. It was where God accepted man as he was. The one act of righteousness by the Son of God nullified forever the writ of accusation against all humanity. The veil was torn away; the entrance is paved, now the ball is in our court. He has accepted us. Do we receive Him or choose to remain estranged? [Estrangement and Belongedness in the Ultimate Sacrifice of God]


When you first hid behind the trees of Eden,
When you first had that sense of shame,
Didn't you just wish God weren't out around?
And when He asked, didn't Him you finally blame?
When a brother lifted his hand against his brother
And slew him hatefully in an outrage untamed,
Didn't he just wish God weren't out around?
And when He asked, didn't he mock both guilt and shame?
Thus, through thought and word and action,
Man bred gods of infinite names,
And in all that he wished God were just obliterated,
So that he could have to God's throne his claim.
"Why be agonized by subservience to the One
When one can decide what's good and what's evil?
Why be traumatized by the fear of the One
When one can switch sides to the kingdom of the devil?
Then, morality could be settled in some selfish game
And immorality disguised in some mystic holy name."

Then He came, God Himself clad in human flesh;
He came to His own and they knew not His name;
And, though amidst them He spoke and worked wonders,
They betrayed and rejected Him to open shame --
Yet, on that Cross of pain and revulsion
God drank man's cup of poisonous hate;
He allowed man to do away with Him,
And in so doing He had mankind embraced.
There on that Cross did Love have the victory
Over selfish sin and prideful shame;
There did God allow the greatest of all crimes
And cover it with His own boundless grace:
The Judge allowed Himself to be executed
By the hands of sinful men;
Thereby, He put an end to all condemnation
And cancelled all writ against our name --
Then, He rose again:
Now, let those who wish God to have remained murdered
Remain forever removed from His power and reign;
But, as many as have repented and to Him surrendered
To them He has given power to be called by His name.


"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:11)
"Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." (John 10:17-18)


© Domenic Marbaniang, 1 August, 2012

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I Look Behind and Find...

I look behind and find that today
Yesterday's maturity looks childish,
Yesterday's brilliance looks foolish;
And, what if I look at myself and find
That I'm better off today than I was ever;
Perhaps, I could scarcely be satisfied
With my today disregarding what I could be tomorrow!

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit." ~ Aristotle

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Madness - A Poem

I saw a madman yesterday and wondered if
We ourselves aren't often mad in many ways,
When we let loose our tantrums, when we
Let temper kill wisdom, temperance, and the day,
When we let loudness overcome reason,
And violence put on destruction,
Coz' we've gotten so mad that people keep away.
A man (or woman) would also go wild with love
That he's blinded to what is pure and real;
We say "He's gone crazy in love (or perhaps, in lust)",
Misjudging his madness for a holy quest,
For it is truly love when one is willing to make a sacrifice
For the good of the other and all the rest;
But, it's sheer madness when one keeps believing the lies,
Counting purity and justice as utmost jest.
It might be a moment's infatuation
That soon turns out to be a mad delusion
Bereft of truth, leaving an empty sense of emotion.
I see another man running to be rich,
And so much by the smell of money bewitched
That he forgets home, family, and friends
And uses all around for his own ends;
"Isn't that madness?" I ask, for what else could it be
That drives one crazy after what is today but tomorrow may not be,
Seducing one to forego warm love for the quest of cold money.
There is another man that I see who's crazier of all the mad;
He laughs at the world, and walks about sneering,
Thinking that his "setting above" will bring much cheering -
"That's madness!" I say, for that's what mad people do all the time:
They think they're so influential, so distinct, and so elite
That the world must bow before their elated, inflated pride;
And, such attitudinal self-cheering only gets others leaving
One lonely, isolated, and "distinct" as one didn't thought one'd be.
I'll conclude: Let's watch out for madness, this virus of self-destruction
That clogs the mind, confuses the senses, and obstructs instruction;
Let's keep focused on truth, and us on the right side of the road,
Keep our eyes open and watch for the signals of reason;
For why should temper or pamper or whimper or dumper
Steal the life that God has given us to live with joy through life's best season.

"The hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead." (Ecclesiastes 9:3)
"The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight." (Proverbs 4:7)

© Domenic Marbaniang, July 18, 2012

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The Unique Christ - II (Poem) - The Song of the Clay

II

The Song of the Clay

Through Him and for Him,

To Him and from Him,

My Maker, My End:

I was there on the ground,

Alienated, isolated, blasted by the wind all around;

Up to myself,

Stranded, corroded, drifted into earth’s sinking ground.

He took me,

Gently,

He lifted me,

Softly,

He cleansed me,

Patiently,

He placed me on the rock.

He took me to His Potter’s Wheel,

And whirled me round and round.

Oh, the whirling, I would have fainted,

Were it not for His gentle hands around me!

Oh, the turnings, I would’ve been thrown off,

Were it not for His guiding hands that ground me!

His fingers shaped gently my hollow inside,

Pushing, molding, forcing, with love,

While His other hand kept caressing me outside,

Stroking, holding, smoothing, with patience.

I swirled here and I swirled there,

Yet, was still in His hands – they were always there!

He formed my lips, and smoothened my face,

Then He stopped the wheel – but, wasn’t yet through with grace…

He took me off, and placed me in the sun.

He left me!

I was so afraid.

The hot winds beat and burnt my face.

Then, He came and took me,

I felt solace in His shade.

But, then He placed me in a fiery furnace.

He left me again!

The flames engulfed me

And drained me of my moisture;

They beat on me with fury,

But, I retained my composure –

For, I knew He’d come back,

Though I couldn’t see Him anywhere around,

The One who picked me wouldn’t abandon me on the ground.

So, He came, Yes, He came

When the fire had run out of rage;

He came, He picked me;

And I saw a smile on His face.

He took me in and poured into me His Water,

I was so amazed –

I could hold Water for use in this sturdy shape.

I looked at my Maker, and now I knew

That only He deserved all the praise!

My lips pour out:

Through Him and for Him,

To Him and from Him,

My Maker, My End.

The Unique Christ - I: The Song of the Lamb

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BEING STRONG IN THE LORD

1. To be strong is a command (Deut 31:6, 7, 23, Josh.1:6,7; 1Kgs 2:2; Dan.10:19). It begins primarily with mental strength, which is good courage.
2. To be strong means to not let hands be weak (2Chr.15:7).
3. Strength is spiritual in nature (Luke 1:80, 2:40).
4. Strength is in the power of God's might (Eph. 6:10).
5. Strength is holding on the word of God (1Jn.2:14).

1. When you're strong, you must utterly drive away the Canaanites. You can't just employ them.
2. Strength is also a place to be in (Tower, Ps.71:7).
3. In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence (Pro.14:26).
4. The name of the Lord is a strong tower (Pro.18:10).
5. Wisdom is strength (Prov.24:5)
6. Love is as strong as death (Song.8:6)
7. Strength by confession (Joel 3:10)

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Hamartiology - Potentiality/Actuality of Sin (Notes)

Potentiality/Actuality

Determinism rules the analytic situation of amoral existence.
The seed determines the fruit. Essence defines existence.
E.g. (1) Man is a social being. Man is a sexual being. Man is a rational being. Man is a moral being (in the sense of capability).
(2) Man can’t but be social. Man can’t but be sexual. Man can’t but be rational. Man can’t but be moral.

Freedom rules the synthetic situation of moral existence.
The choice determines the consequence. Decision defines existence.
E.g. (1) He killed the man. He forgave the man. He loved her. He hated her. The son rebelled against the father’s discipline. The son submitted to the father’s discipline.
(2) He is a murderer. He is merciful. He is full of love. He is full of hatred. He is a rebel. He is obedient.

Death and Actuality
In Adam, death was actualized, mortality was finalized. Therefore, death rules over the entire Adamic race.  Man became a mortal being (not that he was created immortal, but that through his choice of rejecting the life-principle of God to rule his life, separation finalized mortality in him. He also became the sinner, transgressor by this choice. But, though he passes on the mortal nature to all his descendents (a physically mortal can’t pass on immortality for sure), he doesn’t pass on his sinful actuality. Each descendent is still presented with the choice to accept or reject the life-principle of God. Therefore, though Korah's rebellion brought destruction to him, his children could be saved and become the worshippers of God; though one generation perished out of unbelief in the wilderness, the next generation entered the Promised Land.

Involuntary Potentiality Vs Voluntary Potentiality.

Sin is not ontological. Sin is moral. It is not essential to nature, it is a decisional act. Judgment is on the basis of what one has done, intentionally and volitionally, and not on the basis of what one is, essentially speaking. Judgement is on the basis of what one has chosen to be, morally speaking. The potentiality of morality is ambivalent: one can either do good or do bad. It is not deterministic, but open.

Enslavement
Enslavement is the result of voluntary yielding and the choice to let sin overpower self. Enslavement leads to the habit of sin. Each act weakens the power of choice by the deadening of conscience and weakening of will.
E.g. A cigarette smoker, an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, etc.

July 14, 2012

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Death - Was Adam Created Immortal? - Excerpt

(Excerpt from Hamartiology (Notes), 2006)

God created humans as mortals.[1] Mortality was known to Adam, or else reference to it in the command would have meant nothing to him. The world is Christo-centric, not anthropo-centric or eco-centric. The statement ‘let us make man…’ must be seen in this context. God did not create humans as males and females to remain so eternally. In the divine purpose, man is created to be glorified and transformed into the image of the Son. In this sense, then human creation must be seen as real but not final. As far as the creation of the animal kingdom was concerned, it was final; however, the creation of human was not final. Adam was not the complete man. He would only be complete when mortality puts on immortality. Human creation can only find finality in Christ.

Then in what sense, death passed from Adam to all men? It means that although God created humans as mortals, that mortality was not finality. The finality would be the absorption of mortality into immortality. However, through Adam’s disobedience and choice of autonomy (physical well-being), mortality reached finality in Adam and Adam became the first mortal. Thus, it is not the tree that finalized death,[2] it was the choice to disobey God and turn to nature for fulfillment that finalized death. This is the birth of natural religion, of idolatry. Finality also means eternality. Thus, the curse of death on Adam was eternal. Following physical death, his soul was doomed to a resurrection of Godless existence.

Since the command was directly given to Adam, and God first addressed Adam as responsible for the act (‘I commanded thee’), Adam’s disobedience counts primarily here. That Eve’s eyes were not opened before Adam ate the fruit seems to point to the finality of the decision in Adam from whom she was taken.

The divine statement ‘lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever:’ (the use of also) seems to indicate that Adam and Eve had not eaten of it. Obviously, it is impossible for the tree of life to reverse the given verdict of death. ‘Forever’ thus must be taken in the sense of the possibility of prolonged life of a sinner, immune to almost all decay. There is, however, no indication that the fruit of life could render the human body indestructible[3] (as if even God could not destroy it). Long life of continuing sinfulness might have been meant here. Even if they had eaten it earlier, the death edict could not be reversed though life be prolonged; eventually, death would take its toll.

The reign of death (Rom. 5: 14) was the effect of Adamic sin. Hence, though people do not have the Law of Moses, and thus the knowledge of sin (and though they do not sin after the similitude of Adam), yet sin reigns over them through death because of Adam’s disobedience and act of unrighteousness. It is not the physicality of death that is fearsome; for all will be resurrected; rather, it is the Godlessness of a death that is condemned to the finality of banishment from the divine presence (and kingdom) that is fearsome. It is the death that misses the glory of God for which man was made. It is the death that leads to the resurrection of condemnation, of darkness, of indignation, tribulation, and anguish. The crucifixion of Christ destroyed the reign of sin through death in his flesh (Rom.8:3). Death could no longer have any effect on the Last Adam. The resurrection of Christ inaugurated the newness of life, of fellowship with God. He rose again as the Second Man to give life everlasting. To live according to flesh is to live by faith in the self and its ability to live the law of God. Man can live human laws (anthropocentric ethics by tree of knowledge). He could never live divine laws (Christocentric ethics by the Lordship of Christ and the empowering of the Spirit). To live according to the Spirit is to live by faith in the Son of God. This faith overcomes the world (the system of Godless autonomy and satanic reign).

---

[1] (1) If man were created immortal, death could not be predicted of him in any condition. For “immortality” implies inability to die (physically). (2) If man were created immortal, the Tree of Life would be a meaningless addition to the Garden. Perhaps, a safer proposition might be “God created humans as neither mortals nor immortals” because of the condition of non-finality. [Sep 14, 2010]
[2] Human death or Adamic death is evil only because it is a death that is not absorbed by the eternal life of Christ. Death in itself is not an evil, it is evil insofar as it fails to find a purpose. A death that lacks a purpose produces dread and anxiety, but hope in Christ produces joy.
[3] Indestructibility will be a quality of the spiritual body given to the believer on resurrection or glorification: the source, Christ (1 Cor.15:42-49). [Sept 14, 2010]

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