Wednesday, November 8, 2023

left-handed power after feeding 5000

Robert Farrar Capon  (In 

"Kingdom, grace, judgment: paradox, outrage, and vindication in the parables")

also sees the Feeding of 500 as a huge shift in the gospel, both as a literary division:

______________

...and in Jesus' thinking...

 away from "right handed" power to "left handed"

 FIRST, A TEST FOR LEFT-HANDEDNESS:


GET TOGETHER WITH A GROUP OF FRIENDS AND HAVE A GO AT THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES. REMEMBER THAT EACH TASK MUST BE CARRIED OUT INSTANTLY AND WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT.

  1. Imagine the centre of your back is itching. Which hand do you scratch it with?
  2. Interlock your fingers. Which thumb is uppermost?
  3. Imagine you are applauding. Start clapping your hands. Which hand is uppermost?
  4. Wink at and imaginary friend straight in front of you. Which eye does the winking?
  5. Put your hands behind your back, one holding the other. Which hand is doing the holding?
  6. Someone in front of you is shouting but you cannot hear the words. Cup your ear to hear better. Which ear do you cup?
  7. Count to three on your fingers, using the forefinger of the other hand. Which forefinger do you use?
  8. Tilt your head to one shoulder. Which shoulder does it touch?
  9. Fixate a small distant object with your eyes and point directly at it with your forefinger. Now close one eye. Now change eyes. Which eye was open when the fingertip remained in line with the small object? (when the other eye, the non-dominant one, is open and the dominant eye is closed, the finger will appear to move to one side of the object.)
  10. Fold your arms. Which forearm is uppermost?




                     (LINK)

CAPON...ON JESUS LEFT-HANDEDNESS..WHAT DOES HE MEAN?

IN THE FEEDING OF THE 5,000, JESUS' RELUCTANCE ABOUT SIGNS BECOMES MANIFEST (P. 14)...IT IS PIVOTAL (OAGE 21, 22)


 AFTER 5000 ARE FED, THE CROWDS ATTEMPT TO GET JESUS/TEMPT JESUS TO OPERATE IN RIGHT-HANDED POWER (28)...THIS IS A MAJOR SHIFT IN HIS THINKING TOWARD MOVING ONLY IN LEFT-HANDED POWER (55)

NOTE: JOHN'S GOSPEL DOES NOT MENTION JESUS' THREE TESTATIONS...THUS THIS WHOLE "RIGHT-HANDED" TESTATION IS HIS TTP VERSION OF THEM


“BUT JESUS WILL SAVE THE WORLD BY DYING FOR IT – UNDERGOING GHASTLY, UNIMAGINABLE SUFFERING. HE WILL NOT BE A CHARISMATIC, CONVINCING POLITICAL LEADER. HE WILL NOT BE AN INCOMPARABLE WARRIOR. HE WILL NOT RULE BY WINNING, BUT WILL WIN BY LOSING. HE WILL BE, TO THE CONTRARY, THE EERIE EXAMPLE OF WHAT ISAIAH HAD SEEN IN THE SUFFERING SERVANT CENTURIES BEFORE (ISAIAH 53:2-3)” (H. KING OEHMIG, SYNTHESIS 4/6/03). 

 

"UNFORTUNATELY (RIGHT-HAND POWER) HAS A WHOPPING LIMITATION. IF YOU TAKE THE VIEW THAT ONE OF THE CHIEF OBJECTS IN LIFE IS TO REMAIN IN LOVING RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE, STRAIGHT-LINE POWER BECOMES USELESS. OH, ADMITTEDLY, YOU CAN SNATCH YOUR BABY BOY AWAY FROM THE EDGE OF A CLIFF AND NOT HAVE A BROKEN RELATIONSHIP ON YOUR HANDS. BUT JUST TRY INTERFERING WITH HIS PLANS FOR THE SEASON WHEN HE IS TWENTY, AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS, ESPECIALLY IF HIS CHOSEN PLANS PLAY HAVOC WITH YOUR OWN. SUPPOSE HE MAKES UNAUTHORIZED USE OF YOUR CAR, AND YOU USE A LITTLE STRAIGHT-LINE VERBAL POWER TO SCARE HIM OUT OF DOING IT AGAIN. WELL AND GOOD. BUT SUPPOSE FURTHER THAT HE DOES IT AGAIN ANYWAY—AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN. WHAT DO YOU DO NEXT IF YOU ARE COMMITTED TO STRAIGHT-LINE POWER? YOU RAISE YOUR VOICE A LITTLE MORE NASTILY EACH TIME TILL YOU CAN’T SHOUT ANY LOUDER. AND THEN YOU BEAT HIM (IF YOU ARE STRONGER THAN HE IS) UNTIL YOU CAN’T BEAT ANY HARDER. THEN YOU CHAIN HIM TO A RADIATOR TILL… BUT YOU SEE THE POINT. AT SOME VERY EARLY CRUX IN THAT DIFFICULT, PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP, THE WHOLE THING WILL BE DESTROYED UNLESS YOU—WHO ON ANY REASONABLE VIEW, SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO USE STRAIGHT-LINE POWER—SIMPLY REFUSE TO USE IT; UNLESS, IN OTHER WORDS, YOU DECIDE THAT INSTEAD OF DISHING OUT JUSTIFIABLE PAIN AND PUNISHMENT, YOU ARE WILLING, QUITE FOOLISHLY, TO TAKE A BEATING YOURSELF.” (CAPON, PAGE 18-19)  


“EVERY ONE OF US WOULD RATHER CHOSE THE RIGHT-HANDED LOGICALITIES OF THEOLOGY OVER THE LEFT-HANDED MYSTERY OF FAITH. ANY DAY OF THE WEEK—AND TWICE ON SUNDAYS, OFTEN ENOUGH—WE WILL LABOR WITH MIGHT AND MAIN TO TAKE THE ONLY THING THAT CAN SAVE ANYONE AND REDUCE IT TO A SET OF THEOLOGICAL CLUB RULES DESIGNED TO EXCLUDE ALMOST EVERY ONE.” 

 THE MESSIAH WAS NOT GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD BY MIRACULOUS, BAND-AID INTERVENTIONS: A STORM CALMED HERE, A CROWD FED THERE, A MOTHER-IN-LAW CURED BACK DOWN THE ROAD. RATHER IT WAS GOING TO BE SAVED BY MEANS OF A DEEPER, DARKER, LEFT-HANDED MYSTERY, AT THE CENTER OF WHICH LAY HIS OWN DEATH.

"THE MESSIAH WAS NOT GOING TO SAVE THE WORLD BY MIRACULOUS, BAND-AID INTERVENTIONS"-CAPON

THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF POWER IN THE WORLD. ROBERT CAPON CALL THEM RIGHT AND LEFT HANDED POWER. CAPON CAREFULLY SHOWS IN HIS BOOK, THE PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM, THAT JESUS TALKED IN PARABLES SO THAT OUR RIGHT BRAINS COULD GRASP WHAT OUR LEFT-BRAINS CAN NEVER. HE SAYS THAT THE GOSPEL IS A GOSPEL OF LEFT-HANDED POWER, THE POWER OF WEAKNESS, SUBMITTING, AND OBEDIENCE. HE SAYS THAT GOD USED  RIGHT-HANDED POWER IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WHEN WE WERE STILL YOUNG IN OUR DEVELOPMENT,  BUT THAT SINCE THE INCARNATION, GOD PRETTY MUCH STICKS TO THE NON-INTERVENTIVE APPROACH. ACCORDING TO CAPON THE WHOLE THING TURNED AT THE FEEDING OF THE MULTITUDE. JESUS HAD BEEN DOING MIRACULOUS SIGNS OUT OF COMPASSION, BUT THEN HE REALIZED THAT HE WAS IN DANGER OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD AS A PROVIDER OF RIGHT-HANDED POWER. WHEN PETER SUGGESTS THAT HE UNDERSTANDS WHO JESUS IS, MEANING THAT HE WANTS HIM TO BE THE PROVIDER AND PROTECTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE, JESUS SAYS, "GET OUT OF MY FACE, YOU SATAN."  IT IS WHEN WE THINK WE UNDERSTAND WHAT GOD IS UP TO, ESPECIALLY WHEN THIS KNOWLEDGE IS LINKED TO RIGHT-HANDED POWER THAT WE ARE IN THE MOST DANGER.  LINK

READ THE WHOLE SECTION OF CAPON  HERE.

 JESUS' SHIFT TOWARD  LEFT-HANDED POWER..

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J
 

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