8.1. The Nonviolent Logos
This chapter deals wit the gospel of John, and in this section the prologue, John 1:1-18. It is perhaps a hymn that was sound by early Christians.
The Logos. In Greek thought, the unifying principle of the Logos is violence. What are the implications of that.
- It leads to a dualistic view of the universe.
- War is inevitable and justified as morally acceptable.
- The god who is the strongest is the god of all gods.
- The way in which humans view divinity is conflicted.
John’s logos is not violence driven. The true logos comes from God and it is non-violent.
The Logos in Judaism. For the Jews of John’s time, logos was wrapped up in the concepts of Torah, Wisdom, and Word. “… many of the propositions referring to the Logos in the Prologue are the counterparts of rabbinic statements referring to Torah.”[270] Yet this one attribute could not: “The Logos became flesh” (1:14). This would have been an intolerable statement not only for Greek philosophy for which the material world was inferior to the world of eternal ideas. It would also have been problematic for Judaism because Torah was divine, not human in its origin and nature.”
When the Law Is Not Legal. "Jesus critiques the intensive study of the Scriptures by the Pharisees, a laudable effort by any standard, as missing the point. This same indictment can be brought against North American Christianity. We are encouraged to do daily devotions, to join Bible Study groups, we listen to teachers in Sunday School and sermons, attend Bible Conferences at Bible camps, buy study books at Bible Book Stores. Yet, for all of our intensive Bible work, how is it that we Christians can still engage in social ostracism, justification of violence, war and public execution as well as criticism of those whose work is oriented toward healing? Are we not the modern equivalents of the religious authorities of Jesus’ day?”
"The problem with the Law is not its software, but its operating system. It is not a matter of simply liking some texts and not liking others, of accepting some texts and rejecting others. It is the recognition that the Law contains two very clear ways of interpreting itself (see 5.4, 7.1), one oriented to continued justification of sacred violence, the other oriented to revelation of God’s rejection of all sacrificial logic."
Quotes from Hardin, Michael (2013-09-26). The Jesus Driven Life: Reconnecting Humanity With Jesus, 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded (Kindle Locations 6977-6980). JDL Press. Kindle Edition.