"A Text Without a Context is a Pretext"

Renowned Evangelical Protestant scholar Dr. Donald A. Carson ascribed to his father, a Canadian minister, this phrase which has become widely-used:

"A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text."

It's usually quoted in the slightly truncated form, "A text without a context is a pretext."

I.e., without examining the context in which something (in this case, Scripture) was said, one can easily (or even intentionally) misappropriate or misuse or misapply or misrepresent a text to support a position that it in fact does not support.

But what if the context for a Scripture or a Scriptural passage is not simply its immediate location in the paragraph or pericope or chapter or book, but the Church?

John Rylands Papyrus 470

Reproduced by courtesy of the University Librarian and Director, The John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester

You can click on the above image to see in a larger size. You can also go here https://www.digitalcollections.manchester.ac.uk/view/MS-GREEK-P-00470/1 and view it in zoomable high resolution.

This papyrus fragment is a prayer to the Theotokos written about 250 A.D., per papyrologists who have examined the handwriting style. (Theotokos means "God-bearer," a term for Mary that was formally affirmed at the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus in 431.) Some initially placed the papyrus in the fourth or fifth century (the John Rylands Library description below lists it as 3rd - 4th century), perhaps because they didn't think that Christians would have been praying to the Theotokos that early. If the early dating is correct, this prayer must have already been part of the Church's services or prayers, showing that petitions and prayers to the Theotokos and the Saints go back to the early days of the Church, perhaps to the second century.

Reference number: Greek Papyrus 470
Side: recto
Image Number: JRL021620tr
Image Title: Christian Prayer
Alternative Image Title: Prayer to the Virgin Mary
Subject: Christianity
Subject: Religion
Description: This fragment was probably a private copy of a prayer addressed to the Virgin Mary. It is written in brown ink. The verso is blank. Lines 4-9: "Mother of God (hear) my supplications: suffer us not (to be) in adversity, but deliver us from danger. Thou alone....". Aquired in 1917.
Date created: 3rd - 4th century
Time period covered: 1 BCE - 500 CE
Place covered: Egypt
Language: grc
Item height: 180 mm
Item width: 94 mm
Technique used: Scripts (writing)
Medium: Ink
Support material: Papyrus
Discovery site: Egypt
Bibliography: Catalogue of the Greek & Latin Papyri in The John Rylands Library at Manchester
Current repository: John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester, U.K.
Type: Text
Category: Archives & Manuscripts
Sub-category: Fragments
Image rights: JRUL
Work rights: JRUL
Image sequence number: grc0470r
Image technique: Scanned from colour transparency by Gten, August 2003
Metadata language: eng-GB

Image ID: 100285
Resolution Size: 6
Format: JP2
Media Type: Image
File Name: jrl021620tr.jp2
Width: 3683
Height: 4743

- - -

The present form of the prayer in the Greek services and prayer books is:

Υπο την σην ευσπλαγχνιαν
καταφευγομεν Θεοτοκε.
τας ημων ικεσιας μη παριδης εν περιστασει,
αλλ' εκ κινδυνων λυτρωσαι ημας,
μονη αγνη, μονη ευλογημενη

This roughly translates as (adapted from the Wikipedia entry for "Sub tuum praesidium," the Latin version):

Beneath your compassion
we take refuge, Theotokos.
Our petitions do not despise in time of trouble,
but from dangers ransom us,
Only Holy, Only Blessed

In uncial (capital) letters this would be:

ΥΠΟ ΤΗΝ ΣΗΝ ΕΥΣΠΛΑΓΧΝΙΑΝ
ΚΑΤΑΦΕΥΓΟΜΕΝ ΘΕΟΤΟΚΕ.
ΤΑΣ ΗΜΩΝ ΙΚΕΣΙΑΣ ΜΗ ΠΑΡΙΔΗΣ ΕΝ ΠΕΡΙΣΤΑΣΕΙ,
ΑΛΛ' ΕΚ ΚΙΝΔΥΝΩΝ ΛΥΤΡΩΣΑΙ ΗΜΑΣ,
ΜΟΝΗ ΑΓΝΗ, ΜΟΝΗ ΕΥΛΟΓΗΜΕΝΗ.

The papyrus reads:

Note:

• The writer uses a lunate Sigma (i.e., "C") for Σ
• Gray letters are those missing or partly missing from the papyrus; I wasn't always consistent with whether to put a partial letter in gray or not
• Some words are split at the end of a line and continue on the next line
• The papyrus does not have spaces between words, but I used spaces in my transcription of the text

1 ΥΠΟ ΤΗΝ CΗΝ
2 ΕΥCΠΛΑΓΧΝΙΑΝ
3 ΚΑΤΑΦΕΥΓΟΜΕΝ
4 ΘΕΟΤΟΚΕ ΤΑC ΗΜΩΝ
5 ΙΚΕCΙΑC ΜΗ ΠΑP
6 EΙΔΗC ΕM ΠΕΡΙCΤΑCΕΙ
7 ΑΛΛ' ΕΚ ΚΙΝΔΥΝΟΥ
8 ΡΥCΑΙ ΗΜΑC
9 ΜΟΝΗ ΑΓΝΗ, ΜΟΝ
10 Η ΕΥΛΟΓΗΜΕΝΗ

1 Beneath your
2 compassion
3 we take refuge
4 Theotokos Our
5 petitions do not de-
6 spise in time of trouble
7 but from danger
8 rescue us
9 Only Holy On-
10 ly Blessed

Note the following differences from the traditional reading:

6 "ΕΝ" is (mis)spelled as "ΕΜ," probably because the "Ν" sound would have assimilated with the "Π" in the next word and been pronounced like "ΜΠ," with the "Ν/Μ Π" perhaps even becoming a "mb" sound
7 ΚΙΝΔΥΝΟΥ (singular) is used instead of ΚΙΝΔΥΝΩΝ (plural)
8 ΡΥCΑΙ (ΡΥΣΑΙ) is used instead of ΛΥΤΡΩCΑΙ (ΛΥΤΡΩΣΑΙ)

- - -

Thanks go to Frederica Mathewes-Green for bringing this papyrus to my attention in her book THE LOST GOSPEL OF MARY: THE THEOTOKOS IN THREE ANCIENT TEXTS.

The Best Job in the World

Among some comments about the passing of the great Christian historian Jaroslav Pelikan (converted to Orthodoxy in 1998), I found this delightful bon mot:

Nancy Wellins Says:
May 16th, 2006 at 9:43 pm

(snip)

How vividly I recall his encomium to the academic life, which I recall verbatim, 30-odd years later: "Here I sit, day after day, reading exactly what I want, and at the end of every month the university mails me a rather large check. I’d almost feel guilty about it, but I’ve never been very good at feeling guilty."

From : http://titusonenine.classicalanglican.net/?p=12932#comment-586964

Two Wolves

A Cherokee Legend

An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego."

He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?"

The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

- - -

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.... Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.*

For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.... So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.**

* The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Galatians 5:16-25; 6:7-8
** The Epistle of St. Paul the Apostle to the Romans 8:6-8,12-14
(New American Standard Bible)

"If someone disagrees, kiss him."

A great post today (slightly edited by me) from a respondent on an Orthodox forum under the topic "Debate with Roman Catholics":

I learned some time ago from debating on this forum, and in general from debating with all those wonderful people that I debated and argued with (or argued against), that there is no true fulfillment in debating, only egoistic pain from proving oneself to be right for the egoistic pleasure of being right.

If someone asks, tell him.
If someone disagrees, kiss him.
If someone argues, leave him.

For much more good can that person receive by your subdued and humble nature than by your arrogant knowledge.

In this you will know how much you care about someone – for every minute spent arguing with someone is a minute wasted not praying for someone.

After all, we with all our knowledge cannot change one iota of someone’s mind without the will of the Lord.

So, pray a lot and argue only a little.

IC XC
NI KA

John 1:1 - What The Fathers Didn't Say

In the latest thread on John 1:1 (a subject that comes up with monotonous regularity on B-Greek), James Spinti (who works for Eisenbrauns) wrote the following post:

As I asked the last time this whole thing came up--maybe 3 weeks ago? Why does no one who is arguing for the "a god" translation go back to the early church fathers who knew Greek? Is this verse ever used as an argument in any of their treatises (both for and against Arianism)? They KNEW Greek, they spoke it, thought in it, breathed it-if you will. As far as I can tell from my somewhat limited reading (but more than the last time the question came up!), neither side used John 1 as an argument. It was a non-starter, grammatically.

I am open to being shown wrong, but in view of our more limited knowledge of Greek, we should show a bit of humility before their silence in using the supposed "indefiniteness" of QEOS as an argument. Maybe we should concentrate on reading Greek, and not trying to proof text our own theological viewpoint, especially if our knowledge of Greek is limited to a year or three of college/seminary Greek (and only NT Koine at that!).

Frustratedly,
James
(yes, I have an advanced degree in Classics...)

Phôs Hilaron Φως Ιλαρον

Φως ιλαρον αγιας δοξης αθανατου Πατρος,
Ουρανιου, αγιου, μακαρος Ιησου Χριστε,
Ελθοντες επι την ηλιου δυσιν, ιδοντες φως εσπερινον,
Υμνουμεν Πατερα, Υιον, και Αγιον Πνευμα, Θεον,
Αξιον σε εν πασι καιροις υμνεισθαι φωναις αισιαις,
Υιε Θεου, ζωην ο διδους,
Διο ο κοσμος σε δοξαζει.

This is an ancient Christian hymn, perhaps the oldest Christian hymn we have, dating from the 3rd or 4th century.

Here is a very literal translation:

O-light cheerful of-the-holy glory of-the-immortal Father,
Of-the-heavenly, holy, blessed, O-Jesus Christ,
We-having-come to the of-the-sun setting, we-having-seen (the) light evening,
We-sing-to (the) Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God,
Worthy (are) you (sing.) at all times to-be-sung-to with-voices auspicious,
O-Son of-God, life the-one giving,
Wherefore the world you (sing.) glorifies.

A better translation (mine again):

O Joyous Light of the holy glory of the immortal Father,
(Light) of the heavenly, holy, blessed, O Jesus Christ,
Having come to the setting of the sun, and having beheld the evening light,
We hymn the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, God.
Worthy art Thou to be hymned at all times with favorable voices,
O Son of God, who gives life,
Wherefore the whole world glorifies Thee.