Gather 'Round Peter

[ScottA]

Once again proving my point that you simply argue for the sake of arguing and NOT because you have a point to make about the topic.

“Barabbas”, indeed . . .

Once again proving you miss the spiritual message in what is written. Yes..."Barabbas."

Obviously still not getting any of it.

 

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● 1Pet 3:3-5 . . Wives; let not your adornment be merely external-- braiding
the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses --but let it be the
hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and
quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

Some of the more ascetic Christians have attempted to use that passage to
insist it's wrong for women to wear cosmetics. No, the apostle Peter is only
reflecting an old Portuguese proverb that goes something like this: A beleza
não ajusta a tabela. (Beauty doesn't set the table) which simply means a
pretty girl might be amazing in yoga pants but quite ineffective as a
homemaker.

Hollywood movies often portray "spirited" women as somehow desirable. No,
they aren't desirable; they're feral, they demean men and make them
miserable. Hollywood also commonly portrays women slapping men in the
face and getting away with it. That is NOT what Peter means by a "gentle
and quiet spirit" and besides, slapping is the criminal act of assault and
battery-- not what I would call setting a good example for growing girls.

● Matt 5:3 . . Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of.
heaven.

● Matt 5:9 . . Blessed are the peaceable: for they shall be known as God's
kin.

An assertive, confrontational woman is neither peaceable nor poor in spirit;
no, in point of fact she's quite militant, obnoxious, chafing, critical,
temperamental, impudent, and arrogant. Those might be desirable
characteristics for strong females in television and movie roles but clearly
not desirable in a Christian wife.

When a Christian wife gets all dressed up to her nines, but yet lacks a
"gentle and quiet spirit" then her ensemble is incomplete. In point of fact, an
assertive, confrontational wife is, in reality, nothing less than a barnyard
animal.

● Prov 11:22 . . As a jewel of gold in a swine's snout, so is a fair woman
which is without discretion.

So then, by all means Christian women should continue to shop at
SEPHORA, but at the same time make an effort to be agreeable too.

NOTE: I'm by no means attempting to derail the thread and spark a quarrel
with this comment about Christian wives. We're mining the apostle Peter's
epistles for Christ's thoughts pertaining to conduct; instructions for wives
just happen to be in there, so here we are.
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● 1Pet 3:7a . . Husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge

The Greek word for "knowledge" is gnosis (gno'-sis) which means knowing
(as information) in other words: facts and/or ideas acquired by study,
investigation, observation, or experience.

Gnosis is different than "intuition" which Webster's defines as the power, or
faculty, of attaining to direct knowledge or cognition without evident rational
thought and inference.

Gnosis is different than "instinct" too, which Webster's defines as: (1) a
natural or inherent aptitude, impulse, or capacity, (2) a largely inheritable
and unalterable tendency of an organism to make a complex and specific
response to environmental stimuli without involving reason, and (3)
behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level; viz: a
mental and/or emotional knee-jerk reflex.

So then, Peter is talking about husbands applying instructed knowledge of
Christian social skills to their marriages.

There are young boys being brought up by macho (a.k.a. toxic) fathers
teaching their sons to "control their women". Well, that might be an
acceptable marriage philosophy in the home of a Muslim fundamentalist
and/or a club-toting Neanderthal, but not in the home of a man passing
himself off as one of Christ's followers. In a pious home, Christian husbands
are neither required nor expected to tame their Christian wives seeing as
how the onus is upon the wives themselves to exercise self control.

NOTE: It's required of Christ's followers to love their enemies but it's not
required of Christ's followers to like their enemies nor is it required to always
have a good opinion about them. However, though a husband's love need.
not include the elements of affection and/or fondness; his love does need to
include the element of diplomacy; which Webster's defines as skill in
handling affairs without arousing hostility, viz: tact.
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● 1Pet 3:7b . . Give honor unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel,

The koiné Greek word for "honor" is time (tee-may') which means: a value,
i.e. money paid.

The word for "weaker" is asthenes (as-then-ace') which means: having no
strength, i.e. fragile.

And the word for "vessel" is skeuos (skyoo'-os) which can indicate anything
from a soup bowl to a file cabinet or a cardboard box; in other words: a
container.

Peter isn't saying women are physically weaker than men; but that Christian
husbands should exercise the same care with their wives as they would a
fragile antique worth thousands of dollars like, say, a Ming vase. Nobody in
their right mind handles a Ming vase like a farmer handles a 5-gallon bucket.
Not that some women couldn't take that kind of handling; it's just that its
unbecoming for a Christian man to lack sensitivity.

This Ming-vase value isn't an intrinsic value, nor is it a deserved value
either; but rather, it's a gratuitous value. In other words: Christ commands
Christian husbands to categorize their wives up there with Dresden china
even if she's as tough as a female cop and/or a UFC mixed martial artist the
likes of Rhonda Rousey-- and this is not a choice; no, it's not a choice; it's
an order.

Christian husbands who treat their Skil saws and their tomato plants with
more care and concern than they treat their wives can just forget about
associating with God on any meaningful level.

● 1Pet 3:7c . . as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers
be not hindered.

Note the word "together" which is quite the opposite of autonomy and/or
independence.

Couples sometimes assert themselves with words like "What I do is between
me and The Lord." No; not when you're married. Marriage changes
everything between one's self and The Lord because people become one
flesh in marriage: no longer two.
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● 1Pet 3:8a . . Finally, all of you be of one mind,

Peter’s not talking about the nerve center of a Borg-hive collective. The
Greek word for "one mind" is homophron (hom-of'-rone) which means:
harmonious; and this is the only place in the entire New Testament where
that word appears.

Webster’s defines "harmonious" as: 1) musically concordant, 2) having the
parts agreeably related; viz: congruous, and 3) marked by accord in
sentiment or action.

Peter's instructions emphasize the third element-- "marked by accord in
sentiment or action". Head-strong Christians, domineering Christians, those
for whom every disagreement is either an affront or an act of war to win at
any cost— those for whom the word diplomacy has no meaning —of course
have trouble complying with 1Pet 3:8a; that is: if they even consider it
worthy of their notice.
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● 1Pet 3:8b-9 . . having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be
pitiful, be courteous; not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but
contrariwise blessing.

"compassion" is from the koiné Greek word sumpathes (soom-path-ace')
which means: having a fellow-feeling; viz: sympathetic, i.e. (by implication)
mutually commiserative.

One of the meanings of commiserate is condole: like when we share
someone's grief at the passing of a loved one, or their job has been
outsourced to cheap labor in a foreign country, or they've lost their entire
retirement fund to an unscrupulous corporation like ENRON, or their life
savings to a crooked Ponzi schemer like Bernie Madoff, or when there's news
from their doctor they have to begin chemo-therapy for a recently detected
advanced cancer, or when the car of a single mom with limited income
needs expensive repairs. That is no time to be thoughtless. People in those
predicaments are in sore need of condolences, and they are in no mood for
philosophical platitudes.

The Greek word for "railing" is loidoria (loy-dor-ee'-ah) which means slander
or vituperation; which Webster's defines as 1) to abuse or censure severely
or abusively; viz: berate, and 2) to use harsh condemnatory language.

Rejoinders fall into that category; which are defined as a usually rude or
angry reply to something written or said; viz: insensitive come-backs
deliberately meant to hurt people's feelings; viz: tit for tat. That kind of
behavior doesn't go unnoticed.

● Matt 12:36-37 . . I say to you, that every careless word that men shall
speak, they shall render account for it in the day of judgment. For by your
words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned.
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● 1Pet 3:10-11 . . Let him who means to love life and see good days refrain
his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away
from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it.

Webster's defines "guile" as duplicity which is defined as: contradictory
doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially in the belying of one's
true intentions by deceptive words or action; in other words, speaking with a
forked tongue and/or saying one thing while meaning another.

You know, it's ironic; but if we were to take guile out of the political process,
nobody would get elected. I simply cannot imagine an America with
forthright politicians either in Congress, or the Senate, or the White House.

My father-in-law, who retired from Safeco Title as a senior vice president
and general counsel, once remarked that advertising is the art of deception.
You know what that says to me? It says that Madison Avenue's Mad Men
really have gone mad after all.

FYI: To "seek peace and pursue it" is blessing-worthy.

● Matt 5:9 . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the
children of God.

If it's true that only peaceable kinds of people qualify to wear the label
"children of God" then the opposite is just as true: difficult Christians are
unworthy of the distinction.
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● 1Pet 4:8 . . Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because
love hides a large number of sins.

A person easily provoked is not a loving person.

One Saturday morning I and another man at church were moving some
furniture from one place to another inside the main building where,
completely unknown to us, a wedding rehearsal was being conducted.

The woman in charge of organizing the wedding came out into the hall and
began scolding us for talking and making noise. When I pointed out that
there were no posted signs in the hallway indicating a function in progress
on the other side of the door, she became sullen, and tightened her lips and
narrowed her eyes in anger.

Had that lady exemplified the love about which Peter wrote, she would have
handled her inconvenience with a little more tact and sensitivity, i.e.
diplomacy.

● Matt 5:9 . . Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be known as
God's kin.

BTW: That same lady was also in the choir, and sang doxologies in front of
about 2,000 people every Sunday morning. She was good at musical
harmony, but obviously in sore need of some training in the civil kind.
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● 1Pet 5:5b . . and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one
another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

The Greek word for "humble" is tapeinophrosune (tap-i-nof-ros-oo'-nay)
which means lowliness of mind; viz: modesty, which Webster's defines as
freedom from conceit or vanity. Lowliness of mind is to be greatly desired for
its blessing.

● Matt 5:3 . . Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.

Humility is very rare on internet forums. Active members are typically easily
insulted and infected with vanity; plus imperious, domineering, despotic,
assertive, confrontational, arrogant, conceited, reactive, thin-skinned, self
righteous, emotional, critical, and defensive. Those are not what I would call
good Christian attributes. They also have a propensity to jump to
conclusions, get the wrong impression, and fly off the handle. Those aren't
good Christian attributes either; in point of fact; none of those attributes are
blessing-worthy.

"Grace" is one of those ambiguous abstract nouns that nobody seems to
agree upon. Noah found grace in God's eyes (Gen 6:8) which in his case,
regarded providence; which can be defined as kindly patronage. It was by
God's providence that Noah and his family survived the Flood while the sons
of God and their harems didn't. Let that sink in. Just because people label
themselves a Christian, and profess a belief in Christ, is no guarantee they'll
escape the horrors of the book of Revelation. Noah was a righteous man,
and perfect in his generation; too many of today's card-carrying Christians
are neither.

The Greek word for "proud" is huperephanos (hoop-er-ay'-fan-os) which
means appearing above others, viz: haughty. Those kinds of people typically
regard others with contempt, i.e. underserving of respect or even so much
as common courtesy. Haughty people are typically cruel, thoughtless,
insensitive, and badly infected with a superiority complex, which goes hand
in hand with arrogance: defined as an exaggerated sense of one's
importance, sometimes manifested in an overbearing manner.

Arrogant people can be intolerably pushy and assertive at times; standing up
to them usually always provokes an indignant reaction and a call to arms, so
to speak, because these folk regard any and all disagreements with their
way of thinking as demeaning attacks upon their core values and their
distorted sense of self worth. These people have very little interest in
harmony; they're stand-up fighters whose primary interest is winning.

Seeing as how Heaven is reputed a place of peace, then the arrogant, the
haughty, and the proud cannot be allowed to go there with their unholy
personalities. For sure they'd just end up making things very uncomfortable
for Heaven's normally mild-mannered, affable society
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● 1Pet 5:6 . . Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you at the proper time

Humility is defined by Webster's as ranking low in a hierarchy or scale; for
example:

● Matt 18:4 . .Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the
kingdom of heaven.

"greatest' is a category. In other words: there is more than one great person
in heaven certainly. But Jesus taught it is better that you be made great
than to make yourself great; for example:

● Luke 14:8-11 . .When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do
not take the place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you may
have been invited by him, and he who invited you both shall come and say
to you "Give place to this man" and then in disgrace you proceed to occupy
the last place.

. . . But when you are invited, go and recline at the last place, so that when
the one who has invited you comes, he may say to you; "Friend, move up
higher" then you will have honor in the sight of all who are at the table with
you. For everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he who humbles
himself shall be exalted.

Speaking critically of the religious luminaries of his days; Jesus once said:

● Matt 23:2-7 . .The scribes and the Pharisees do all their deeds to be
noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries, and lengthen the
tassels of their garments. And they love the place of honor at banquets, and
the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market
places, and being called by men: Rabbi.
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● 2Pet 1:5-7 . . Make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue,
knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control,
perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly
kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.

All those things listed by the apostle Peter are "supplements" defined by
Webster's as things that are added.

If Peter's list is chronological, then it's evident that believers are not
supposed to start with love and work towards faith, rather they're supposed
to start with faith and work towards love, viz: unloving believers are still
believers yes, but they've plenty of room for improvement; viz: their
confidence in Christ's crucifixion as a price he paid to ransom their souls
from the wrath of God is good, but it's only the beginning; i.e. a foundation
upon which Peter urges them to accumulate the traits on his list.
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2Pet 1:5-7 reprised from post No.51

"Make every effort to add to your faith virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and
to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to
perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to
brotherly kindness, love."

The Greek word for "virtue" is arete (ar-et'-ay) which basically refers to the
strength, and the courage, to stand for what's right.

The word for "knowledge" is gnosis (gno'-sis) which basically refers to
information obtained by teaching, instruction, and study rather than known
naturally by intuition and/or instinct.

The word for "self-control" is egkrateia (eng-krat'-i-ah) which means:
continence. The opposite of continence is incontinence; which is the
condition where a person cannot restrain their natural impulses.

The word for "perseverance" is hupomone (hoop-om-on-ay') which means:
cheerful (or hopeful) constancy. A hupomone person always keeps looking
for the light that they know is at the end of the tunnel; and even if they
can't see it for now; they fully expect to.

The word for "godliness" is eusebeia (yoo-seb'-i-ah) which means: piety;
defined by Webster's as dutifulness in religion; viz: devoutness; i.e.
dedication.

The word for "brotherly kindness" is philadelphia (fil-ad-el-fee'-ah) which
means fraternal affection; i.e. fondness. In these days of dysfunctional
homes in the USA, fraternal affection has no point of reference in the
thinking of some people because they've never seen it, nor ever experienced
it. Is it any wonder then that so many homes in America are producing
sociopaths, and kids with Reactive Attachment Disorder?

The word for "love" is agape (ag-ah'-pay) which may or may not contain the
elements of affection and fondness; but always contains the element of
benevolence.

Benevolent people are good folk; they're typically helpful, kind, generous,
cordial, hospitable, courteous, tolerant, sympathetic, loyal, and civil.

Agape was a sorely-missing element in my three years of service in the US
Army from 1961 to 1964. The men disliked each other; and the men disliked
the officers and non-coms; and they in turn disliked the men. Everybody
mistrusted each other and each guy had at the most only a couple of guys in
my whole 200-man unit he could lean on. That lack of agape had an impact
on unit cohesiveness and made America's enemies seem more like friends
than foes.

I really appreciate Charlie Sheen's line towards the end of the Hollywood
movie "PLATOON". It goes something like this: "I think now, looking back,
we did not fight the enemy-- we fought ourselves . . . and the enemy was in
us." That line is profound; and an excellent companion to a line in
"Terminator 2, Judgment Day" when Arnold Schwarzenegger commented to
the young John Connor: "It is in your nature to destroy yourselves."
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● 2Pet 3:14 . .Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be
diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless

Some of the brethren haven't a clue what it is to be in peace; their
temperaments won't permit. But that's something they really need to work
on because temperamental behavior isn't permitted in Heaven, and it won't
be permitted in the new cosmos either.

FAQ: Is there no hope for people born with temperamental dispositions?

A: It's possible for people to be rid of their natural-born human nature and
replace it with a nature very similar to God's.

● 2Pet 1:3-4 . . His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to
life and piety, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory
and excellence, by which He has granted to us His precious and very great
promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in
the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature.

It's pretty obvious throughout the New Testament that Jesus had divine
nature. (2Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15, 1Pet 1:18-19, 1Pet 2:22, and 1John 3:5)

It gave him quite an advantage.

● John 8:29 . . He that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone;
for I do always those things that please Him.

Were it not for his having divine nature; Jesus could never claim to always
please the Father. Had Jesus come into the world having only human nature,
he might've pleased the Father some of the time, or even most of the time,
but certainly not all the time.

The Greek word for "looking forward" is prosdokao (pros-dok-ah'-o) which
means: to anticipate; viz: to await; for example:

When I was a small boy living in Santee California back in the late 1940's, I
used to climb one of the olive trees in the front yard so I could see down the
road in the direction that my dad came home every evening in a black 1933
Model A Ford. I always climbed the tree ahead of time so I could begin
watching for my dad and spot him coming a long ways off, and then I'd get
down and sprint out to the end of our dirt driveway and jump on the running
board of that old Ford and ride it back to the house with my dad.

Prosdokao is like that. It fully expects the arrival of a future event; and the
future event Peter spoke of in previous verses is not only The Lord's return;
but also the utter annihilation of the current cosmos to be replaced by one in
which only righteousness exists. Today, righteousness and unrighteousness
exist side by side, but in the future, it won't be like that.
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● 2Pet 3:18 . . But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.

A gracious person is honest, kind, courteous, inclined to good will, generous,
cheerful, reliable, trustworthy, faithful, genial, sociable, generous,
thoughtful, patient, lenient, tolerant, temperate, approachable, helpful,
peaceable, charitable, altruistic, compassionate, sympathetic, cordial,
proper, elegant, polite, genteel, reasonable, affable, agreeable, genial,
cheerful, warm, sensitive, hospitable, considerate, diplomatic, and tactful.

Why the instruction to grow in grace? Because people in Heaven are nothing
like the churlish race of brutish hominids infesting the world down here.
Heaven's society is populated with really nice folk: they're good people; the
best of the best. Unrefined behavior doesn't fit in there; it's a fish out of
water. People of little grace would likely hate the place anyway; and very
definitely annoy God and disgust Him to no end.

Buen Camino
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