0 Kisah-Kisah Perjalanan Yesus Kristus Menurut Injil (1)

Oleh: Martin Simamora

Yesus Di Kota Nain: Seorang Nabi Besar Telah Muncul Di Tengah-Tengah Kita

Yesus Di Kota Nain

Hari itu, Ia ada memasuki kota Nain. Itu adalah sebuah hari sebagaimana hari-hari biasanya bagi Yesus untuk menjalankan apa yang menjadi misinya sebagaimana telah dikumandangkannya sendiri dihadapan jemaat Tuhan di Nazaret, di rumah ibadat: “Roh Tuhan ada pada-Ku, oleh sebab Ia telah mengurapi Aku, untuk menyampaikan kabar baik kepada orang-orang miskin; dan Ia telah mengutus Aku untuk memberitakan pembebasan kepada orang-orang tawanan, dan penglihatan bagi orang-orang buta, untuk membebaskan orang-orang yang tertindas, untuk memberitakan tahun rahmat Tuhan telah datang." (Lukas 4:18-19). Diikuti banyak orang yang begitu takjub dengan pengharapan yang mereka sendiri belum dapat memastikannya, Yesus tetap menjadi magnet yang begitu besar dalam pengaruh dan kuasa. Yesus menjadi figur yang begitu penting untuk diikuti agar dapat dilihat apakah yang dikatakan dan dilakukannya dan kali ini  kota Nain menjadi salah satu tempat yang begitu penting untuk menyatakan siapakah Yesus dan apakah klaimnya yang berbunyi seperti ini di Nazaret: "Pada hari ini genaplah nas ini sewaktu kamu mendengarnya." (Lukas 4:21) adalah benar?

Inilah yang  Yesus lakukan di kota Nain sebagaimana injil Lukas mencatatkannya bagi kita:

Lukas 7:11-16Kemudian Yesus pergi ke suatu kota yang bernama Nain. Murid-murid-Nya pergi bersama-sama dengan Dia, dan juga orang banyak menyertai-Nya berbondong-bondong. Setelah Ia dekat pintu gerbang kota, ada orang mati diusung ke luar, anak laki-laki, anak tunggal ibunya yang sudah janda, dan banyak orang dari kota itu menyertai janda itu. Dan ketika Tuhan melihat janda itu, tergeraklah hati-Nya oleh belas kasihan, lalu Ia berkata kepadanya: "Jangan menangis!" Sambil menghampiri usungan itu Ia menyentuhnya, dan sedang para pengusung berhenti, Ia berkata: "Hai anak muda, Aku berkata kepadamu, bangkitlah!" Maka bangunlah orang itu dan duduk dan mulai berkata-kata, dan Yesus menyerahkannya kepada ibunya. Semua orang itu ketakutan dan mereka memuliakan Allah, sambil berkata: "Seorang nabi besar telah muncul di tengah-tengah kita," dan "Allah telah melawat umat-Nya."

Di kota Nain ada orang mati, bukan peristiwa yang mencengangkan karena kematian pasti menghampiri setiap manusia. Tak ada manusia yang tak mengenali satu takdir kesudahannya di muka bumi ini yaitu tak ada satupun manusia yang akan kekal hidupnya. Tak hanya dahulu, bahkan hingga era nuklir dan penjelajahan angkasa luar kini, pun manusia mengakui tak ada satu teknologi apapun yang sanggup menghadang hari kematian seorang manusia. Tetapi di kota Nain, apa yang mencengangkan adalah adanya seorang manusia yang begitu saja berkata kepada kematian yang telah menguasai seorang manusia dari kehidupannya di muka bumi ini sebagai yang berkuasa atas kematian itu sendiri. Perhatikanlah ucapannya ini: Hai anak muda, Aku berkata kepadamu, bangkitlah!

Kematian bukanlah argumen yang dapat dipatahkan oleh argumen. Kematian, sebaliknya adalah sebuah kebinasaan badaniah dari kehidupannya di muka bumi ini yang mengecualikan dirinya dari peradaban manusia-manusia yang masih hidup dalam sebuah cara yang begitu membusukannya. Coba bandingkan dengan hal ini untuk memahaminya: “Tuhan, ia sudah berbau, sebab sudah empat hari ia mati” (Yohanes 11:39). Tetapi bagaimana mungkin Yesus terhadap kematian berkata Hai anak muda, Aku berkata kepadamu, bangkitlah! Di tengah-tengah tangisan kedukaan seorang ibu terhadap anaknya?

0 Apologetic Issues in the Old Testament, Part 2

By: Dr.Richard S. Hess 

Distinguished Professor of Old Testament

Minimalists and the Old Testament

The issue of minimalism, or more accurately the question of the historical value of the Bible, has changed over the years in terms of the focus of ancient Israelite history. For example, in the mid-1970s the major concern was whether the patriarchs of Genesis 12–36 had any historical claim to its tradition.5 The critics questioned the application of parallels from cuneiform archives dating to the traditional date of the patriarchs, the early second millennium b.c. They argued that such parallels could be found in cuneiform texts from a thousand years later, that the style of “history writing” in Genesis did not predate the Greeks who wrote in the fifth century b.c. and later, and that other customs and materials in Genesis could best be dated to the first millennium b.c. This was countered by a series of studies that demonstrated that the quantity and quality of many parallels in the early second millennium b.c. appear only then outside the Bible, that narrative writing of events such as found in Genesis 12–36 was known in the patriarchs’ world of the second millennium b.c., and that many of the customs cited, including especially the personal names, are either exclusive to the early second millennium b.c., or match it in a statistically significant manner not found later.6

0 An Introduction to Christian Apologetics – 2

By: Dr.Paul Coulter

No one is converted through apologetics?

 

Acts 26:28

B] Objections from outside the Bible

1. Logic cannot tell us anything about God

This statement is self defeating since it relies on internal logic as the basis for its claim. Logic is simply the way in which we state facts and make claims. In this sense it is impossible to say anything at all about God or anything else without employing logic. As Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli write [6]:

Most people scorn or ignore apologetics because it seems very intellectual, abstract and rational. They contend that  life and love and morality and sanctity are much more important than reason. Those who reason this way are right; they just don’t notice that they are reasoning. We can’t avoid doing it, we can only avoid doing it well.

They explain the relationship between the language of logic and argument and the reality of the world we live in [7]:

We write in terms, propositions and arguments because we think in concepts, judgments and reasoning; and we do this because the reality we think about includes essences, facts and causes. Terms express concepts which express essences. Propositions express judgments which express facts. And arguments express reasoning which expresses causes, real ‘becauses’ and ‘whys’.

Since Christians believe in a God who speaks using human language we must be committed to the belief that language can describe reality in a way that is comprehensible. Although we do not claim we can know every truth about the causes, ‘becauses’ and ‘whys’ of the universe, we do believe that God has created us in His image as rational people who can comprehend those causes, ’becauses’ and ’whys’ that God has revealed to us through the ordering of nature, through His actions in history and through His words recorded in Scripture.

0 An Introduction to Christian Apologetics - 1

By: Dr.Paul Coulter

What is ‘Apologetics’?

What is ‘Apologetics’?

The term ’apologetics’ derives from the Greek word apologia. Although it is derived from the same word as the English noun ’apology’ and adjective ’apologetic’ the meaning is quite significantly different. In the ancient Greek world an apologia was a legal defence of oneself, similar to the speech a modern day defence lawyer makes on behalf of their client. It did not mean “a regretful acknowledgement of an offence or failure” (the Oxford English Dictionary definition of ’apology’) but a carefully reasoned defence of one’s beliefs or actions.

We might, then, define Christian apologetics as follows:

The task of developing and sharing arguments for the truth and rationality of Christianity and the falsehood and irrationality of alternatives with the aim of strengthening the faith of believers and provoking non believers to consider Christ

The significance of this definition will become clearer throughout this article, but at this point it is important to emphasise that ’argument’ in this context refers to a logical, reasoned case rather than an argumentative style. Apologetics includes both developing and sharing arguments – it is not a purely academic exercise conducted in an ivory tower, but a practical engagement with real people and real problems. You will also notice that there are two sides to the arguments we seek to develop – a positive case for Christianity and a negative case against alternative belief systems. Furthermore, the ultimate aims of apologetics are not to develop clever arguments but to see people led to faith and strengthened in their faith.

What Are the Origins of Apologetics?

In the second century AD, as Christianity began to engage at an intellectual level with Greek philosophy and attractedgreater attention from Roman society, a number of writers produced reasoned defences of the Christian faith. Of these Justin Martyr (c. 100165 AD), a gentile from Samaria who was converted after seeking truth in numerous philosophies and eventually died as a martyr in Rome, is probably the best known and the most significant. These writers are generally referred to as ‘the apologists’. Their writings collectively show three major concerns:

0 Apologetic Issues in the Old Testament, Part 1

By:Dr.Richard S. Hess 

Distinguished Professor of Old Testament

New Atheists and the Old Testament

An apologetics addendum on matters relating to the Old Testament can include a great variety of items. Guided by the author of this volume and my own thoughts as to what may be of most value, I have chosen to focus on three items that might assist us in appreciating some of the major apologetics issues for this era. I will begin with a consideration of some of the chief issues addressed more popularly in recent pro-atheist books. I will then consider the so-called minimalists and criticisms of the historical witness of the Bible. Finally, I will look at perhaps the most important apologetic issue in the Old Testament, that of Deuteronomy, Joshua and divinely ordained genocide.1

New Atheists and the Old Testament

First, I would like to deal with a few of the specific charges made by the “new atheists.” Space does not permit me to examine the details of every issue that is discussed. So I will attempt to focus on some of the main charges in three well-known books by authors also famous for taking this position: Sam Harris, The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason; Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion; and Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.2

1 Yesus Kristus & Perumpamaan-Perumpamannya:Sepenting & Sekudus Apakah?

Oleh: Martin Simamora

Tanpa Perumpamaan Ia Tidak Berkata-Kata kepada Mereka

▬Parabolik dalam Pengajaran Yesus Kristus

Metode parabolik atau yang menggunakan perumpamaan telah digunakan oleh Yesus dalam sebuah kehidupan pelayanannya dalam implementasi yang sangat  prinsip sebagaimana komentar yang dikemukakan injil Markus berikut ini:

Markus 4:34 dan tanpa perumpamaan Ia tidak berkata-kata kepada mereka, tetapi kepada murid-murid-Nya Ia menguraikan segala sesuatu secara tersendiri.

Mengenai perumpamaan itu sendiri, lalu seperti apakah kedudukannya? Apakah semacam imajinasi atau karangan belaka yang kedudukannya lebih rendah daripada sabda atau firman, sehingga bisa diasumsikan bahwa Yesus juga mengandalkan hikmat manusiawinya sehingga sabdanya semacam ini “Sebab Aku berkata-kata bukan dari diri-Ku sendiri, tetapi Bapa, yang mengutus Aku, Dialah yang memerintahkan Aku untuk mengatakan apa yang harus Aku katakan dan Aku sampaikan” (Yohanes 12:49) tidak senantiasa berlaku? Bahwa tak selalu Bapa memerintahkan Yesus untuk mengatakan apa yang harus dikatakannya? Untuk menjawab ini, atau untuk mengetahui kedudukan perumpamaan-perumpamaan dan segenap pengajaran Yesus sendiri, mari kita memperhatikan sejumlah catatan dalam injil-injil berikut ini:

●Matius 7:24-29 Setiap orang yang mendengar perkataan-Ku ini dan melakukannya, ia sama dengan orang yang bijaksana, yang mendirikan rumahnya di atas batu. Kemudian turunlah hujan dan datanglah banjir, lalu angin melanda rumah itu, tetapi rumah itu tidak rubuh sebab didirikan di atas batu. Tetapi setiap orang yang mendengar perkataan-Ku ini dan tidak melakukannya, ia sama dengan orang yang bodoh, yang mendirikan rumahnya di atas pasir. Kemudian turunlah hujan dan datanglah banjir, lalu angin melanda rumah itu, sehingga rubuhlah rumah itu dan hebatlah kerusakannya." Dan setelah Yesus mengakhiri perkataan ini, takjublah orang banyak itu mendengar pengajaran-Nya, sebab Ia mengajar mereka sebagai orang yang berkuasa, tidak seperti ahli-ahli Taurat mereka.

Yesus mengajar dengan perumpamaan-perumpamaan, dengan demikian, bukan sama sekali menunjukan bahwa ia adalah manusia biasa, sebagaimana pendapat orang banyak yang kerap mendengarkan Yesus mengajar dalam metoda paraboliknya tersebut: “takjublah orang banyak itu mendengar pengajaran-Nya, sebab Ia mengajar mereka sebagai orang yang berkuasa, tidak seperti ahli-ahli Taurat mereka”.

0 Annihilationism Error: Hebrew Word Definition Charts

Question

What do the Hebrew and Greek words means in reference to the false doctrine of Annihilationism?

Answer

Some "teachers" are twisting, turning, and torturing many words in the Hebrew and Greek language and stating that they mean "total annihilation or nothingness" - "ceasing to even exist," as they relate to the Doctrine of Hell.

Regarding the Doctrine of Hell,
there are no words in the entire of Scripture that can be accurately
translated as "total absolute annihilation;" not one.

By: Dr. Joseph R. Nally, Jr., D.D., M.Div.

Throughout the Bible, Hebrew and Greek words interpreted as "destroy," "destruction," "perish," "kill," and "death," as they relate to Hell, never mean "to go into absolute nothingness or oblivion," but rather they mean "eternal" or "forever and ever" ongoing "everlasting" conscious "destruction" (Phil 3:19; 1 Thess 5:3; 2 Thess 1:9; 2:8; Rev 14:11; 20:10-15, et. ). The "gloom of utter darkness" (Jude 1:13; cf. 1:6) refers to being cut off entirely from God, who is "light" (John 1:9; 8:12; 1 Tim 6:16; Jas 1:17; 1 John 1:5; cf. Isa 9:2; John 3:20; Acts 26:18; 1 Thess 5:5). The word "gloom" in Jude 1:13 refers to "a state of depression or despondency." To be in a "state of depression" one must be alive! 

Words such as "cut off" (Exod 31:14-15; Lev 23:29-30; Rom 11:22, 24; Gal 5:12, etc.) also do not mean "absolute nothingness," as even Jesus was "cut off" (Dan 9:26) and is alive "forevermore" (Rev 1:18). Many times the word "cut off" simply means to be cut off from Israel, its congregation, etc., (Exod 12:15, 19; 30:33, 38; 31:14; Lev 7:20, 21, 25, 27; 17:4, 10, 14; 18:29; 19:8; 23:29; Num 19:13, etc.).

One of the most celebrated defenses of Annihilationism has been from Psalm 37:20, "the wicked...they vanish-like smoke they vanish away." Sounds convincing, right? However what is the Psalm really about? The Psalm itself is not even dealing with Hell; Psalm 37:20 refers to that the fact the success, fame, and prosperity of the wicked is as temporary as mere smoke. However, let's say we desire to apply the passage to Hell anyway - we shouldn't, but since Annihilationist's already have, let's review their case from their faulty perspective. Since "smoke" is an important theme here, we should ask the obvious question, "What is smoke?" Smoke is made of two basic things: (1) little drops of water and (2) ash. First, ash can't burn! Second, the reason smoke appears to vanish away is that, as the smoke rises: (1) the droplets of liquid water change states into gas and (2) the ash joins the dust in the atmosphere. Therefore, both elements in smoke still exist, but just in different states. Therefore, there is no total annihilation! 

As the reader will observe, in the Old Testament notes below there're many that refer to "physical destruction, not eternal destruction" (i.e."devoted to destruction," or "curse;" Deut 2:34; 3:6; Judg 21:11; cf. Gal 1:8-9). Please understand that in these notes, we're not saying that those who died did or did not go to Hell or Heaven (that's another topic), but simply the context of the verse is speaking of only "physical destruction," which carries with it the idea of stopping, scattering, putting to flight, and up to and including physical death, etc. Yet, some of the "spin doctors" of the false doctrine of Annihilationism desire to use these examples of "physical destruction" and apply it to "eternal destruction." However, unless otherwise revealed in Scripture, this is not a proper application; as the Bible speaks of two different types of bodies (one that is able to die; the other is not; 1 Cor 15:44, 53) and two different types of death (one temporal and one eternal; Matt 10:28). Besides, the physical body in this world is never totally annihilated anyway; it returns to the dust from which it came (Gen 2:7; Eccl 3:20; 12:7; Psa 103:14; Isa 40:15). In addition, if we follow the Annhilationist's interpretation as such to its logical conclusion, than the wicked can send the righteous to total annhilation (absolute non-existence); 'if they totally annihilate me, they totally annhilate mel' (Est 4:16, etc.) - which is ludicrous, as the righteous know that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor 5:8).