Biblical Information & Reflections:
Excerpts from Personal Journals of Philip G. Roets.
Passages selected by Lois F. Roets, Phil’s wife
Journal Entries about the Bible.
Volume 91
Nov 30-Dec 1, 2000
I’ve really done a lot of thinking about the origin of the Bible writings. We were all “hung up” on “revelation” and “inspiration” that we turned the Bible writings from human writings to something un-human.
The Israelite (or Hebrews or Jews) were an ordinary group of nomads. They began to search for their origins. They made up stories based on fact and fiction. Gradually, they became a settled people and put some of these ideas and ideals into writing. The prophets and teachers were people who rose up to develop and defend their ideals. John Baptist and Jesus brought all these ideals to a high point and gave us the full picture.
December 14-16, 2000
Last night, you (Lois) asked me (Phil) if I believe in God. I certainly do and it is Yahweh who is depicted in the Bible. No one knows what he is like. He is primarily described as a “Father” with his family.
The whole business of a trinity or triune God is ridiculous. Jesus was a real man who was truly concerned about the people around him. The Holy Spirit or Holy Breath is the breath of the New Adam. This Holy Spirit is the harmony, sharing and community that people are supposed to establish in their lives.
December 17, 2000
I spent a lot of time mulling over the notion of “God” as presented in the Bible. The second word in the Hebrew text of Genesis, “Bara,” sets the tone. “Bara” means to “beget a son.” It is a late word coming from the 3rd or 4th century BC. It is used only of “God.” The writers saw the whole universe as evidence of the “Fatherhood of Yahweh” and this was to manifest the “brotherhood” of all human people.
December 19-22, 2000
I read through my commentary on Acts. I am pleased with it. Then I read my commentary on Paul’s letters. I feel quite sure these letters are the 3rd work of Luke. He tried to remove some of the anger and bitterness (of Paul). Luke succeeded to an extent. Paul makes special mention that his last letter to Timothy is written directly by him.
January 3-4, 2001
We talked about the prophets last night. There are two words in Hebrew, “nabi” and “hoseh.” “Nabi” is the “moralist.” He looks at the actions of people from the viewpoint of good or bad. All prophets had this quality. “Hoseh” is the “seer.” He is concerned primarily with the after-effects or future results of this action.
January 7, 2001
The original Aramaic Matthew appeared about 55 A.D. The present Matthew dates between 85 and 90 A.D. The body of the Gospel is chapters 3-26. Chapters 1 and 2 are an introduction and chapters 27 and 28 are a conclusion. The body of the Gospel appeared first. Then the Mission of Christians was attached to the end to make sure the ideas and ideals of Christ were brought to life. Finally, when the whole writing was put together, chapters 1 and 2 were written as an introduction.
The whole genealogy (in Matthew) is limited to 42 names, in groups of 14. The letters in the name of David equal the sum of 14. So the whole genealogy is to teach that the Kingdom of David is fully established. The Jewish leaders were furious with the idea. They were expecting a real Kingdom with worldwide supremacy.
The Magi story was introduced to show that this kingdom was to reach the whole world not just the Roman Empire. I think the Magi story is more of a parable than a factual story. Abraham had come from the East and founded the chosen people. Perhaps this story has some literary connection.
January 10, 2001
I’ll finish the review of my commentary on Mark today. Each time I read his gospel, I get a vivid picture of a young man eager to be up front but ready to run as soon as the work was too long or too difficult. Then he becomes the companion of Peter in Rome. Peter, too, had to develop a steady constant approach.
Peter had stressed the need of an “apologia” as the basis for all Christian life. “Apologia” is a the Greek word for a “deep personal reason” for something. In this case it was the apologia for the hope that is in you. Mark’s Gospel is a short presentation of the ideas and ideals of Christ from this viewpoint.
January 31, Feb 1, 2001
I have been reading my work on Matthew. I have nothing to add to my commentary but I get a deeper insight into the depth and orderliness of this gospel and the Christian ideals after three generations of living them and in the midst of the strong wave of Roman persecution.
The topic of divorce and remarriage is developed twice. Matthew says the only reason for this practice is “porneia.” Unfortunately, this was given the narrow meaning of “adultery” by the Roman Catholic authorities. The Latin translation is “aliquid foedum.” This means “anything selfish.” This meant that marriage is a total giving of self to each other. This was explicitly stated in the opening account of Genesis, chapters 1 & 2.
February 5-7, 2001
I read the article about the successive editings of the Bible in the J E D P sequence, Yahwist (J), Elohist (E), Deuternomic (D), Priestly (P). This was highly suspect teaching when I first started teaching. Now we have gone beyond into the Apocalyptic and Wisdom editings. These ideas make the whole Bible story more and more meaningful and helpful. When the official teaching finally makes Christ totally human, we’ll get a new start.
Feb 15-17, 2001
Yesterday, I was reading the contrast between the writers of the New Testament. I compared Luke, Matthew, John and Paul. For centuries, Paul was quoted most often in the theology books. Yet we can see the really hot-headed and mean person that he was. His attitude was the background for the church laws, especially Canon Law, for centuries. The real message of Christ was ignored. Each of the Gospels stresses that the whole stress is the interaction of people with each other in daily life.
February 18, 2001
We were talking about the prophets yesterday. I don’t think I really appreciated these men fully until I wrote the commentaries on them. They were really great men, filled with courage in spite of the antagonism stirred by their teaching.
February 20-23, 2001
I finished the rewriting of the monograph “Who is God?” Now I have to write the Appendix that gives what each book tells us about God. I’ll also include the chronology of the editings of the OT. (Editor’s comment: A simple sentence but a monumental work by Phil.)
March 9-11, 2001
I read the article on the visit to the lands of the Bible. It was very interesting and gives a good critique. The writer’s basic point could be summed up in a statement we have made for several years. The Bible is a prime example of “Semitic history.” Western history demands all the facts before a statement of truth can be made.
The Semitic mentality sets out to teach a point. The writer chooses the facts that develop this point and does not hesitate to alter the facts to fit the story.
The Noah story and the flood are a perfect example. There are three different accounts of the flood in the three chapters in Genesis. I have the three stories underlined in green, red and blue in my Jerusalem Bible.* For some reason, the story of the rain of 40 days and nights became the popular choice and the others were ignored. * See copy of page of Genesis with red, blue and green underlinings by Phil Roets.
The crossing of the “Red Sea” is another example. The Bible account says clearly “Sea of Reeds,” a muddy swamp. The translation chose “Red Sea.”
March 12-16, 2001
I have written down my Biblical ideas and these grow steadily. Now the historic person, Jesus Christ, is real to me and the teaching and ideals of Christ are really intriguing. He publicly condemned the ritualism of the Pharisees and now it is the Roman Church.
March 17-18, 2001
Feast of St. Joseph.
When I was in Rome, I was always amazed at how little recognition St. Joseph received. There was no basilica or big church with his name. He was clearly ignored in spite of his huge role in the Christian story. The sad part was that he was depicted as an old man to safeguard the “virginity” of Mary. One tradition was that there were other children and these were the cousins. They came to take Jesus home to Nazareth before he got the whole family in trouble with the religious and civil authority by his brazen opposition to and condemnation of them.
It makes the picture much more real.
