The Fascinating Story of P52

How did this 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" tiny papyrus fragment shock the world of biblical scholarship?

Dr. Dan Wallace, writing at Parchment and Pen, tells the fascinating story of how this small, ancient piece of paper known as P52-- found in a trash heap in Egypt and stored unnoticed for years at the John Rylands Library in England-- has changed our understanding about the Gospel of John.

In the mid 19th century, the influential scholar F.C. Baur proposed that the Gospel of John was written late in the 2nd century. This theory gained considerable influence and consequently the historical reliability of this Gospel fell into serious doubt. But then, in 1934, Wallace writes:

... a young doctoral student studying at Manchester University came across a scrap of papyrus in the John Rylands Library. Colin H. Roberts was intrigued by the papyrus fragment, which had been excavated decades earlier from rubbish heaps in Egypt. It was only 2 & ½ inches by 3 & ½ inches, but its importance far outweighed its size. Roberts immediately recognized it as a fragment of John’s Gospel—chapter 18, verses 31 to 33 on one side, and chapter 18, verses 37 and 38 on the other, to be exact. He sent the photographs of the fragment to three of the leading papyrologists in Europe. Each one reported independently that this fragment should be dated, on paleographical grounds, between AD 100 and AD 150. A fourth scholar disagreed, arguing that the fragment should be dated in the 90s of the first century!

This tiny fragment of John’s Gospel rocked the scholarly near-consensus on the date of John, for it is impossible for a copy to be written before the original text is produced. It effectively sent two tons of German scholarship to the flames. As one wag put it, "This manuscript must have been written when the ink on the original text was barely dry."

The discovery and publication of P52, the papyrus discovered by Roberts, conjure up aphoristic ditties that are almost proverbial in their staying power and application—such as, "An ounce of evidence is worth a pound of presumption."

While Baur's late dating of John remains influential, biblical scholars like Richard Bauckman-- and his books, "Jesus and the Eyewitnesses," and "The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple" are demonstrating that John is a historically faithful witness of Jesus.

Mother's Day

Many preachers would tell you that Mother's Day is always a challenging sermon. While the Hallmark cards are emotional and sappy, the Bible paints motherhood as it really is--hard work and full of frailities, with Proverbs 31:10-31 expressing its crowning appreciation for all that mother's do.

So after you preach Proverbs 31, where else do you turn?

Yesterday I chose a text that speaks exclusively of the Messiah-- Isaiah 11:1-9.

There, Isaiah sees a vision of Jesus ruling in his soon to be future kingdom. In verses 1-5, Jesus rules with wisdom and righteousness. In verses 6-9, we see his kingdom is characterized by harmony, as illustrated by the wolf the lamb living peaceably together.

When we imitate our Savior and practice the wisdom of righteousness, we bear witness in the here and now to what God will establish in His future kingdom. For mothers then, the application was this: godly mothers who practice godly wisdom make their home a little heaven on earth.

To illustrate the point, I used Edward Hick's painting, "Peaceable Kingdom." In the foreground of the painting is God's future kingdom. The predator and prey live together. Across the ravine of time, in the background, is William Penn making peace with the Indians. The lesson of the painting: make peace today because God will make peace in the future. Be an example today of what God will establish tomorrow.

My Mom likes art. She gave me the inspiration to use Hick's painting. Thanks Mom.

Conference Minister of Kansas-Oklahoma Takes Early Retirement

This letter came in an email today from the President of the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference:

At our Conference Council meeting, on May 7th, the Rev. David Hansen, requested the Conference Council grant his request for early retirement, and the Council has done so.A committee has been appointed to work with David in this transition. Rev. Hansen will be completing several engagements prior to his leaving. The Rev. Michael Poage, pastor of Fairmount United Church of Christ, Wichita, KS, has been designated as the Acting Conference Minister. We have begun the work needed to find an Interim Conference Minister for the Kansas-Oklahoma Conference as expeditiously as possible. Judy Vincent and Jim Ahrens will be helping to direct all communications with the Conference Office to the correct people.

The Rev. Ira Williams, the Director of Camp White, resigned effective May 5th. We are also beginning the process of evaluating the camp situation and will be in communication with the conference. This has resulted in the cancellation of the Camping Program for this year. We apologize to all of those who have worked so hard at preparing for this summer’s program and those of you who were looking forward to participating.

Please keep the Conference Council, our staff, and the Rev. Mike Poage in your prayers as we work hard to make this transition go as smoothly and constructively as possible.

Dr. R. Michael Lake
K-O Conference President

I don't know what events led up to this, but I'm very disappointed to hear the camping season is canceled.

Rev. Wright's Wrong Theology

When Rev. Jeremiah Wright spoke at the National Press Club, a lot of attention was given to his remarks that pertained to his famous parishioner, Presidential candidate Barack Obama. However, Wright said some other things that were newsworthy also.

During the Q & A, Wright was asked this question:

Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the father but through me." Do you believe this? And do you think Islam is a way to salvation?

Wright replied this way:

Jesus also said, "Other sheep have I who are not of this fold."

Denny Burk, in an article entitled, "Jeremiah Wright's Most Dangerous Remark," offers this response that I wholly endorse:

Wright’s response clearly implies that Muslims are among the “other sheep” to which Jesus refers in John 10:16. Thus Wright affirms that people who do not have conscious faith in Christ can nevertheless have the hope of salvation — an inclusivist position that argues there are many paths to God...

When Jesus says that he has “other sheep who are not of this fold,” it’s likely that he is referring to Gentiles who would later come to faith in Christ. The sheep that are following Him at that point in the narrative are Jews, but Jesus aims to have followers from among the Gentiles as well. Whoever the “other sheep” are understood to be, they nevertheless have the characteristics of “sheep.” They listen to and follow Christ, and they are saved only by Him.

To say that “other sheep” refers to unbelievers (or followers of Islam in Reverend Wright’s case) simply runs roughshod over the plain meaning of the passage...

Here’s the real import of what Wright said. Many people who hear Jeremiah Wright are likely to get the impression that Jesus is one of many paths that people might take to get to God. Jesus never taught any such thing. In fact, he always challenged His hearers with a stark choice. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). Jesus would brook no rivals, and He only made salvation available to those who would “honor the son” (John 5:23).

The Jeremiah Wrights of the world mislead people into thinking that Jesus Christ is one path among many that people might take to get to God. Jesus taught just the opposite. There is only one path that leads people to salvation, and it’s Jesus. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me” (John 14:6). To miss that path means forfeiting eternal life. The stakes couldn’t get any higher than that.

Greensburg, KS: One Year Later

Today is our church's 54th annual auction, filled with lots of good buys, great food, and fun rides for the kids. Last year at this time, everyone was discussing the tornado that ripped through Greensburg, KS the night before--basically wiping the town off the map.

But the city is rebuilding and President Bush is coming to give the high school commencement address.

While Greensburg is 2 1/2 hours south of Little River, our town does have a few ties to the area. In particular, there's a Meade County family that wrote a book for kids, entitled, "Where Is God in the Storm?" KWCH-12 out of Wichita has a nice feature on the book. The book was written by Shandi Lang and illustrated by her young daughter, Grace.

Gerson: A Jesus for All People

On the subject of race relations and in light of the the Rev. Jeremiah Wright-Barack Obama feud, I like what Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson writes:

It is a tribute to the power of the Christian message that there is such a thing as African American Christian theology at all. Christianity was the religion held by slave masters -- often distorted into an ideology of oppression. But African Americans found a model of liberation in the Exodus. They discovered that Jesus more closely resembled the beaten and lynched slave than their pious oppressors. And African Americans -- by their courageous assertion of God's universal love and man's universal dignity -- redeemed a nation they had entered in chains.

But black liberation theology takes this argument a large step further -- or perhaps backward. The Rev. Wright's intellectual mentor, professor James Cone of Union Theological Seminary, retreats from the universality of Christianity. "Black theology," says Cone, "refuses to accept a God who is not identified totally with the goals of the black community. If God is not for us and against white people, then he is a murderer, and we had better kill him." And again: "Black theology will accept only the love of God which participates in the destruction of the white enemy." And again: "In the New Testament, Jesus is not for all, but for the oppressed, the poor and unwanted of society, and against oppressors."

This emphasis on the structural evil of white America has natural political consequences -- encouraging a belief that American politics is defined by its crimes, a tendency to accept anti-government conspiracy theories about AIDS and drugs, a disturbing openness to anti-American dictators such as Castro and Gaddafi. It explains Wright's description of the Sept. 11 attacks as a "wake-up call" to "white America."

But the deepest flaws in black liberation theology are theological, not political. Jesus did advocate a special concern for the rights and welfare of the poor and helpless. But he specifically rejected a faith defined by social and political struggle, much to the disappointment of his more zealous followers. The early church, in its wrenching decision to include gentiles as equals, explicitly rejected a community defined by ethnicity. No Christian theology that asserts "Jesus is not for all" can be biblical.

Report: Wright Feels Betrayed

After the controversial remarks made by Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Jr. during the Q & A at Monday's National Press Club meeting, many pundits think Wright is intentionally seeking to bring down Barack Obama's presidential hopes.

Why?

An unnamed source tells the New York Post:

"After 20 years of loving Barack like he was a member of his own family, for Jeremiah to see Barack saying over and over that he didn't know about Jeremiah's views during those years, that he wasn't familiar with what Jeremiah had said, that he may have missed church on this day or that and didn't hear what Jeremiah said, this is seen by Jeremiah as nonsense and betrayal," said the source, who has deep roots in Wright's Chicago community and is familiar with his thinking on the matter. "Jeremiah is trying to defend his congregation and the work of his ministry by saying what he is saying now," the source added. "Jeremiah doesn't care if he derails Obama's candidacy or not... He knows what he's doing. Obviously, he's not a dumb man. He knows he's not helping."

Ironically, in Wright's address before the National Press Club-- that is, his speech before the Q & A time, remarks that didn't make the sound clip bites-- Wright spoke eloquently about race and black church history, suggesting:

Maybe this dialogue on race, an honest dialogue that does not engage in denial or superficial platitudes, maybe this dialogue on race can move the people of faith in this country from various stages of alienation and marginalization to the exciting possibility of reconciliation.

I know a good place to start.