Dr. Alice C. Linsley
The early Hebrew were acute observers of the order of creation. Their observations led them to consider the relationship between the Creator and the human creature. They perceived that the Creator is infinitely greater than the creature. The creature is entirely dependent upon the Creator and is to live under the Creator’s authority. They regarded the Creator-creature relationship as universal and inescapable.
Christian Ethics builds upon this foundation and goes further by insisting that the Incarnation of God in the person of Jesus Christ means that God can fully relate to the experiences of humanity. That divine intrusion also reveals the unfathomable depth of the Creator’s love and mercy toward all humanity.
Resentment of God’s sovereignty is fed by a distorted picture of the Creator-creature relationship. This binary set has both balance of authority and hierarchy. The Creator rules over all and is above all, yet the creature has been given authority to rule the domain of earth. Genesis 1:28 indicates that humans have been given the mandate to spread over the earth and have dominion. Respect for the mandate leads to good stewardship of the earth and the earth’s resources.
The second set to be considered is the binary set of Life-death. A binary thinker recognizes that life is greater than death, and vitality is greater than moribundity. God told the people of Israel (Jacob’s clan) to choose life rather than death by taking the path of obedience rather than disobedience. “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deut. 30:19).
The living human can perceive, experience, think, and interact in both positive and negative ways. While there is life, there is the potential for positive growth and development of the body, mind, and soul by which the individual may hope to avoid the “second death”. The second death in mentioned in Revelation 2:11 - "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death." The second death occurs when the body and the soul as a unit are not restored to life in the general resurrection. That is what the early Hebrew (4000-2000 B.C.) believed, and their belief is reflected in their mortuary practices and texts. The earliest known resurrection texts were prayers offered by Nilotic priests for their deceased kings. They hoped for a righteous ruler who would rise from the dead and lead his people to immortality. This hope explains why the priests took such care to preserve the bodies of their rulers. St. Augustine noted that the Egyptians took great care in the burial of their dead and never practiced cremation, as in the religions that seek to escape material existence (Death, Burial, and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity, Jon Davies, Routledge, 1999, p. 27)
Great effort went into the preservation of the ruler’s body because the early Hebrew anticipated that one of their kings would be restored to life and would lead his people to immortality. This path was described as the way to the “imperishable stars”. For the biblical Hebrew the number three was associated with the third day rising of HR, the Son of God. He serves his people in life and death, clearing the path to the Father. As the Son of God, HR rises on the third day. “Oh Horus, this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the Imperishable Stars" (The Ancient Pyramid Texts, Utterance 667).
For the biblical Hebrew heavenly recognition was not an individual prospect. Heavenly recognition came to the people through the righteousness of their king. They hoped the king would rise on the third day and lead his people to immortality. This language of royal processional appears in reference to the Messiah, who has the power to deliver captives from the grave and present them before the throne of heaven (Ps. 68:18; Ps. 7:7; Eph. 4:8). Paul speaks of Christ leading captives in his royal train.
Some Christians have championed the belief that all people will ultimately receive the gift of eternal life (universalism). This argument rests on the belief that the Creator’s character is such that He is unable to assign anyone to extinction. However, even this world is assigned to extinction and must give way to a new heaven and a new earth prepared for a new people. The new people are those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, delivered from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, and clothed in Christ’s righteousness. The Creator never ceases in creating. He gives life and He takes it away (Job 1:21; Deut. 32:39). Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Because Christians seek to please God, who alone has authority to take life, we defend and advocate for the unborn. We seek to maintain space for God to work to the natural end of a person’s life. We support the development of all humans toward the maturity they were created to enjoy. We visit the sick whose weakness makes them vulnerable. We pray for them and anoint them with consecrated oil.
Resentment of God’s sovereignty is fed by a distorted picture of the Creator-creature relationship. This binary set has both balance of authority and hierarchy. The Creator rules over all and is above all, yet the creature has been given authority to rule the domain of earth. Genesis 1:28 indicates that humans have been given the mandate to spread over the earth and have dominion. Respect for the mandate leads to good stewardship of the earth and the earth’s resources.
The second set to be considered is the binary set of Life-death. A binary thinker recognizes that life is greater than death, and vitality is greater than moribundity. God told the people of Israel (Jacob’s clan) to choose life rather than death by taking the path of obedience rather than disobedience. “I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live” (Deut. 30:19).
The living human can perceive, experience, think, and interact in both positive and negative ways. While there is life, there is the potential for positive growth and development of the body, mind, and soul by which the individual may hope to avoid the “second death”. The second death in mentioned in Revelation 2:11 - "Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who is victorious will not be hurt at all by the second death." The second death occurs when the body and the soul as a unit are not restored to life in the general resurrection. That is what the early Hebrew (4000-2000 B.C.) believed, and their belief is reflected in their mortuary practices and texts. The earliest known resurrection texts were prayers offered by Nilotic priests for their deceased kings. They hoped for a righteous ruler who would rise from the dead and lead his people to immortality. This hope explains why the priests took such care to preserve the bodies of their rulers. St. Augustine noted that the Egyptians took great care in the burial of their dead and never practiced cremation, as in the religions that seek to escape material existence (Death, Burial, and Rebirth in the Religions of Antiquity, Jon Davies, Routledge, 1999, p. 27)
Great effort went into the preservation of the ruler’s body because the early Hebrew anticipated that one of their kings would be restored to life and would lead his people to immortality. This path was described as the way to the “imperishable stars”. For the biblical Hebrew the number three was associated with the third day rising of HR, the Son of God. He serves his people in life and death, clearing the path to the Father. As the Son of God, HR rises on the third day. “Oh Horus, this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the Imperishable Stars" (The Ancient Pyramid Texts, Utterance 667).
For the biblical Hebrew heavenly recognition was not an individual prospect. Heavenly recognition came to the people through the righteousness of their king. They hoped the king would rise on the third day and lead his people to immortality. This language of royal processional appears in reference to the Messiah, who has the power to deliver captives from the grave and present them before the throne of heaven (Ps. 68:18; Ps. 7:7; Eph. 4:8). Paul speaks of Christ leading captives in his royal train.
Some Christians have championed the belief that all people will ultimately receive the gift of eternal life (universalism). This argument rests on the belief that the Creator’s character is such that He is unable to assign anyone to extinction. However, even this world is assigned to extinction and must give way to a new heaven and a new earth prepared for a new people. The new people are those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, delivered from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, and clothed in Christ’s righteousness. The Creator never ceases in creating. He gives life and He takes it away (Job 1:21; Deut. 32:39). Blessed be the Name of the Lord!
Because Christians seek to please God, who alone has authority to take life, we defend and advocate for the unborn. We seek to maintain space for God to work to the natural end of a person’s life. We support the development of all humans toward the maturity they were created to enjoy. We visit the sick whose weakness makes them vulnerable. We pray for them and anoint them with consecrated oil.
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