Archive for May 28th, 2009

Your Advice Taken

Thursday, May 28th, 2009 | Author:

Thank you all so much for offering your helpful suggestions.  Bessy and I have gone over every comment. Many offered insights into cultural issues, help with the next step and other useful suggestions like sponsorship.  Here’s what we have come to believe:

1. Most of the 250 readers are NOT in the poorest of the poor. They have cell phones, computer access, etc.  They are what we would consider “middle class” in a country where the middle class is very small but not under the abject poverty on the masses.  These people are often involved in serving the masses of poor.

2. The culture endorses “free” which leads to entitlement and we do not want to support that – it isn’t good for the community and leads to an individual “what’s in it for me” mentality. We Christians have preached a free grace gospel so long that we no longer believe there is a cost to grace. There is. It cost God His Son. But we are now endorsing a “give me” gospel.  This is not what it means to be part of the Body.

3. There is little real value placed on spiritual things in this environment – other priorities take over – this is true in churches and with Today’s Word.  This is perfectly understandable with the wretched poor.  They are in survival mode.  But our readers are generally not in this situation.  Sacrifice is also part of the Body.  Without it there is little real spiritual growth.

4. There are real “need” cases, none of which we will ever turn away.  All they need to do is ask.

5. The support we are asking for is NOT for Today’s Word or At God’s Table or me – it is for their own community – so that we are able to do things in that community that fall through the cracks like we do in the English speaking community.  We want to encourage members of the Body to act like the Body.  That is the purpose of Today’s Word – to put hands and feet on the Scripture.

6. The cost to provide the above is relative to the culture, so $20 does a lot more there than here.  Nevertheless, there is still a cost.  We have born this without asking for anything for 4 years now.

7. We don’t care about the money (other than for #5 above).  We care about the VALUE to the community. Without any response, the perception is that there is little value placed on this effort.  Since Bessy lives in this culture, I value her opinion on the cultural issues we face.  Today’s Word is not a “ministry” in the classical sense – given away at someone else’s expense.  We did that for 7 years.  What we want to build is a community of believers who learn together and work together for the benefit of each other.  OUr community does not have to support bricks and mortar, salaries and overheads.  We support each other.  That’s what we believe is the biblical model – the fruit from each life supports the other lives.

8. I doubt that most of the 250 readers are using internet cafe access or that they can’t afford the access – I have met a lot of them.  While they earn little compared to our USA standards, I don’t know a single one who cannot give anything at all.  And since the giving is merely a sign that they want to help build the Body in Central America, I don’t believe God expects us to enable a culture of receivers. Meat, not milk.  No more baby bottles.

9. When we decided to move to a donor model in the USA, there were 5000+ readers. Now there are 500. Everything is better. People care for each other. The teaching is real and makes a difference in behavior. I wouldn’t have cared if we had 12, but God answered that decision and we have grown by 150%. It never happened until we said, ”Make a commitment.”

10. I think that “opt-in” may be a reasonable alternative, but it does not meet the goal of #5 and, basically, they have had 4 years of “opt-in.”

11. I think transactions by internet may be a problem, but we might overcome that with some alternative. I don’t know how to do this yet, but I don’t think that this explains the lack of response from 95% of the readers.

So, we are going to explain once more that this is about the Body, supporting and committing to the Body of believers in your own culture where you have first-hand experience.  We are going to ask once more for some sign of commitment, either write to us and ask or send some donation that we can use to help each other.  And then we are going to cut the list in a week or so.

Bessy has never received any funds for her labor.  I have never taken a salary from At God’s Table.  It’s time for the Spanish community to realize this and support this effort – principally Bessy – because they all benefit from her work, and a workman (or woman) in God’s service deserves to be taken care of by those served.  She has agreed to continue to translate even if there are only a handful.  I hope that will not be the case, but I firmly believe that it’s time to stop this entitlement thinking in Christian circles.

Thank you again for all your input.  It is wonderful to see so many who have a heart to help.  If you do wish to sponsor someone, we can do that, but my guess is that what really would matter would be to sponsor Bessy’s work.  She will be the one adding those who wish to stay but cannot donate.

May the Lord be blessed.  May His name be lifted up.  And may His people reflect His character.  We are ready and willing to give of ourselves, but we know that the objective is to pass along the willingness to give, not the gift.

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Doble Preposicion-alismo

Thursday, May 28th, 2009 | Author:

Y el SEÑOR Dios dijo: No es bueno que el hombre esté solo; le haré una ayuda idónea.

Génesis 2:18


Ayuda Idónea – Cuando la Escritura utiliza una combinación extraña de palabras para describir algo tan importante como la Mujer, nos conviene prestar atención. Y no hay nada más extraño que la manera en que la Torá describe la creación de Mujer. Se le llama ayuda – kenegdo. Conocemos la primera palabra, ´ezer (ayuda). Definitivamente no quiere decir asistente. Viene de un contexto de ayuda militar, fortaleza y rescate. En algún sentido, hasta ahora sin identificar, la mujer “salva” al hombre (pero la mayoría de los hombres ya saben esto, aunque no lo quieran admitir). Pero ese es solo el inicio del juego.

El texto hebreo no utiliza la palabra ´ezer sola. El concepto completo es el de ´ezer kenegdo. Desafortunadamente, al añadir la palabra kenegdo solo aumentamos su opacidad. Eso sucede porque la palabra kenegdo solo aparece una vez en toda la Escritura, y es aquí. La palabra raíz detrás de esta extraña combinación es neged. Pero este no es un sustantivo, verbo o adjetivo. Es una preposición. Esto sí que es extraño. Es como decir que Havvah es una “ayuda antes” o una “ayuda delante de.” El significado de la preposición sola (neged) se determina por el contexto. Cubre el rango de antes de, delante de, correspondiente a, contra u opuesto. Es aun más perturbador el hecho que aquí la preposición neged ha sido unida a ki, otra preposición que usualmente significa “cómo” o “así.”  Los comentaristas han luchado con ésta combinación. Es evidente que las palabras son de importancia crítica para la comprensión de la intención de Dios con Su creación de Mujer; pero muchos eruditos de la tradición cristiana tienden a tapar o ignorar la segunda palabra.

El comentario rabínico ubica un énfasis especial en la importancia de la combinación. Rashi sugiere que la conjunción de las dos preposiciones significa que  ´ezer es tanto la que ayuda como la que se opone. Su rol es indeterminado. Depende plenamente del contexto de la relación de pacto con su esposo. Si él es bendecido y justo, ella es ayuda. Si él no es bendecido e impío, ella es la que se opone. En otras palabras, es la enemiga perfecta. Está perfectamente diseñada para actuar como la guía íntima para que el hombre permanezca conectado al Señor. Y es la oposición perfecta cuando su hombre siente la tentación de irse por su propio camino. Como ´ezer kenegdo, es tan abogada como castigadora. Está ontológicamente equipada para “conocerle,” por cuanto vino de él y está diseñada para completarlo. Ella carga las armas más poderosas conocidas por el hombre, capaz de atraerlo a ella de maneras que nadie es capaz de hacerlo. Cuando realmente es ´ezer kenegdo, protege a su hombre como nadie más. Pero esa responsabilidad gloriosa y ese poder sorprendente vienen con un riesgo aterrorizante.

Comprenderemos ese riesgo otro día. Mientras tanto, podemos comenzar a honrar el papel especial que Dios diseñó en cada mujer.

Transición

El primero de Junio es la fecha de transición a la comunidad de suscriptores. Hemos recibido muchas solicitudes de permanencia gratuita, las cuales gustosamente concedemos. Son muy importantes para nosotros. Las personas que se han comunicado con nosotros y/o han decidido contribuir, con la cantidad que deseen y sean capaces de aportar  – $1, si es la cantidad que pueden aportar – nos demuestran que éste esfuerzo es lo suficientemente importante para que tomen acción.

Las otras personas, mas de 200, que no se han comunicado ni han ofrecido aporte, saldrán del listado de suscriptores. Comprendemos que todos tenemos prioridades diferentes, no podemos aportar a todos los ministerios. Pero avanzamos hacia la formación de una comunidad en la que todos sentimos que es una prioridad. Esa es la comunidad que buscamos, comprometida con el estudio y con el resto de las personas que comparten esa pasión.

Si deseas saber por qué lo hacemos, cómo contribuir, o deseas unirte a la comunidad de suscriptores, presiona aquí.

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Double Preposition-alism

Thursday, May 28th, 2009 | Author:

And said YHWH Elohim, “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make for him a helper corresponding to him.” Genesis 2:18

Corresponding To Him – When Scripture uses an odd combination of words to describe something as important as Woman, we had better pay attention. And nothing is stranger than the way that the Torah describes the creation of Woman. She is called a helper-kenegdo. We know the first word, ‘ezer (helper). It absolutely does not mean assistant. It comes from a context of military aid, strength and rescue. In some sense, so far unidentified, a woman “saves” a man (but most men already know this, even if they can’t admit it). That, however, is just the beginning of the game.

The Hebrew text doesn’t use the word ‘ezer alone. The full concept is the ‘ezer kenegdo. Unfortunately, the addition of the word kenegdo only increases its opacity. That’s because kenegdo occurs only once in Scripture, right here. The root word behind this odd combination is neged. However, this is not a noun, a verb or an adjective. It is a preposition. That is very odd indeed. It’s kind of like saying that Havvah is a “helper before” or a “helper in front of”. The meaning of the preposition alone (neged) is determined by the context. It covers the range of before, in front of, corresponding to, against and opposite. Even more disturbing is the fact that here the preposition neged has been coupled with ki, another preposition that usually means “like” or “as.” Commentators have struggled with this combination. Clearly the words are critically important for understanding what God intends in His creation of Woman; but many scholars of the Christian tradition tend to either gloss over or ignore the second word.

The rabbinic commentary places more emphasis on the importance of the combination. Rashi suggests that the two-preposition conjunction means that the ‘ezer is both one who helps and one who opposes. Her role is indeterminate. It depends entirely on the context of the covenant relationship with her husband. If he is blessed and righteous, she is a helper. If he is not blessed and wicked, she is one who opposes. In other words, she is the perfect enemy. She is perfectly suited to act as the intimate guide for a man to stay connected to the Lord. And she is the perfectly opposed one when her man is tempted to have his own way. As ‘ezer kenedgo, she is both advocate and chastiser. She is ontologically equipped to “know” him since she came from him and she is designed to complete him. She carries the most powerful weapons men have ever known and has the ability to draw him to her in ways that nothing else can. When she is truly ‘ezer kenegdo, she protects her man as no other. But this glorious responsibility and awesome power comes with a terrifying risk. Understanding that risk waits for another day. In the meanwhile, we can begin to honor the special role that God designed into every woman.

Topical Index: ‘ezer kenegdo, perfect enemy, helper, opposite, Genesis 2:18

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 7 Comments