Chapman and Warner - Rethinking Evangelism in the Old Testament

In my recent "manifesto" on church, The Church of The Underground, Melody and I engaged in a spirited debate on the nature of evangelism and the purpose of the church. One of the issues raised was whether the church should persuade nonbelievers. Also on the table was the whole point of evangelism: is it to "win souls"? Or is there something bigger???

Here are a few excerpts from the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Theological Interpretation that may be of interest. (JTI is a new theological/exegetical journal that comes from a somewhat conservative perspective and seeks to blend together the disciplines of theology and biblical exegesis, exploring the two as complimentary.....though they probably would not like me classifying them as "conservative"! Especially Vanhoozer, who is a self-described "postconservative.")

This article is by Stephen B. Chapman and Laceye C. Warner entitled, "Jonah and the Imitation of God: Rethinking Evangelism and the Old Testament." Chapman/Warner are interested in exploring the Old Testament concept of mission, but they desire to do this with a bit more care and concern for the context; rather than simply glossing the OT and "finding support" for a preconceived notion of mission, Chapman/Warner seem to want to sit and stew a bit and open up their paradigms to new ways of looking at the text, ultimately allowing the Old Testament to develop its own thoughts on mission. As such, they land on the story of Jonah. After discussing and sifting through the narrative, Chapman/Warner draw a few interesting conclusions. I list a few here:

(1) Like mission, evangelism is not in the first instance something that humans do but something God does....

(2) Evangelism is deeply related to a theology of creation and a doctrine of providence, rightly construed. We are all God’s creatures—evangelism rightly entails compassion for the earth and all its many inhabitants. Issues such as social justice, international development, nationalistic warfare, animal welfare, and global warming cannot be separated from the salvation of souls within the purview of Christian theology.

Some may object that evangelism is properly about saving souls and that neither the earth nor its nonhuman inhabitants have any. But we would argue that evangelism, viewed as human participation in God’s encompassing mission of reconciliation, must be about more than human soul-saving. After all, the OT envisions a covenant between God and “every living creature” (Gen 9:8–17) and the NT describes how “the creation itself will be set free” (Rom 8:21).

(3) Evangelism as imitatio dei therefore means, first and foremost, that Christians must embody God’s love for the world and display God’s desire for reconciliation with the whole world. They do this as individuals whose hearts and minds are inspired by God, but they do so most fully in communities of faith as the reconciled body of Christ....

(7) Christian evangelism is always centripetal as well as centrifugal because it always entails bringing people into community as well as sending people out from community. The double movement is constitutive of evangelism: people are sent out in order to return with others. In this way Christian community extends itself in order to remain itself. But “extending” does not mean the mere replication of the church’s character as an institution (i.e., without facing new challenges or allowing for increased diversity in membership)—in other words, growing just for the sake of growing. And “remaining” means preserving a faithful theological identity, not retaining the social profile of a congregation. In evangelism, the church preserves itself only by giving itself away, remaining hospitable and gracious to all, and not by seeking merely to maintain a homogenous membership.

In keeping with the double movement that the Bible envisions, evangelism is therefore better understood as “welcoming” or, better still, “enlisting” rather than as “winning” or “proclaiming” or even “inviting.”

Citation information:
Stephen B. Chapman and Laceye C. Warner, "Jonah and the Imitation of God: Rethinking Evangelism and the Old Testament" in Journal of Theological Interpretation 2.1 (2008), 44-69.

Fearing a great fear

Jonah 1:11-17


So they said to him, "What should we do with you that the sea might grow calm for us?!?" For the anger of the sea was becoming more and more intense.
Jonah replied, "Pick me up and hurl me into the sea. Then the sea will become calm, because I know that it is on my account that this immense storm has struck you."
Nevertheless, the men worked hard to row back to dry land, but they could not prevail because the storm continued to worsen and rage against them.
So they cried out to Yahweh and said, "We pray, O Yahweh! Please do not let us die on account of this man's life, and do not hold us guilty of innocent blood. After all, you, Yahweh, have done what pleases you.”
So they lifted up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the raging sea grew calm.
At this the men were terrified of Yahweh, and they sacrificed an offering to Yahweh also making vows.
But Yahweh provided a great fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah remained in the bowels of the fish three days and three nights.


I find interesting the "fear" we see in this passage.

Jonah is the man to whom the lot has fallen. He knows what to do. The sailors are growing desperate, their lives hang in the balance. They implore Jonah to tell them what to do. And Jonah tells them: Throw me over.

Is there any feeling in Jonah as he says this?? That is what I wonder. Is he apathetic and sedated? Does he even care, anymore, whether he goes overboard? Or perhaps he is beginning to repent?

I tend to lean towards the apathy. I tend to think Jonah is still at this point ready to go overboard and face his death. After all, what does he have to look forward to if he lives? He is a prophet on the run. He would be an alien in some strange land.

This isn't enough for the sailors who try to chug it back to the land. The interesting thing is that in this scenario going back to land is about the worst thing to do. The ship would wreck and be torn apart. So, why do the sailors go back to land? Did they lose all common sense and reasoning? Did they lose their sixth sailor sense? Sasson has an interesting suggestion:

But, as centuries of nautical common sense taught, steering a ship to shore when in the midst of a storm is a foolish, even suicidal enterprise! To the contrary, a ship must at all costs not be driven to the coastline where it will surely wreck. It could be, of course, that the difficult circumstances led the sailors to lose their cunning, skill, and knowledge. The sailors, however, could have been reasoning that if they steered ashore in the midst of a storm, it should prove them no longer willing to shelter God’s errant prophet. Surely this powerful deity would not allow them harm as they rowed ashore! With faith in divine mercy and justice, the sailors were betting their lives on the success of this measure. (142)

So, maybe the sailors were trying to demonstrate to Yahweh that they were ready to return the prophet-on-the-run. Surely this terrible God would reward such an effort. After all, if they chucked Jonah overboard they would have innocent blood on their heads. And the blood of a prophet, no less. And how would this incredible "Yahweh" respond to someone who threw his prophet into the sea??!! No, the sailors are desperate for any other solution. But there is no other. They must "hurl" Jonah into the raging sea.

The anger of the sea grows calm.

The sailor's reaction?

The Hebrew text in verse 16 is fascinating. It literally reads something like, "the men feared a great fear." The same Hebrew word (yare) is used both as a verb and a noun, and on top of that the author throws in the adjective "great!" to describe the fear! Theses sailors are struck and shaken to their core as a result of this experience. So, they do what any ancient would do: they offer sacrifices and make vows. We do similar things today when we find ourselves at the tail end of traumatic events. We dedicate ourselves to God and replot the course of our lives.

What were these sacrifices offered?? What were their vows? There is some grammatical indication that these might have been lavish sacrifices. No surprise from me if they offered up anything and everything they possibly could! These men had seen the mighty hand of Yahweh, and they "feared a great fear."

But there is also a minor point here that is important for understanding the sailor's fear: The sea was a strange and mysterious domain. Before scientific revolutions and technological advancements allowed us to build boats or to predict weather patterns the ancients were at the mercy of the waves and the elements, which seemed to have a mind of their own. This god of Jonah's - this "Yahweh" - must be a god of incredible power for him to control the sea. The sailors' gods were either powerless or simply on vacation. But the mighty arm of Yahweh made the sea do its bidding. He controlled it and manipulated it like a skilled potter with his clay. Yes, it was time to acknowledge the power of this "Yahweh" and to fear this great power.

This note about the ancients also sheds light on the impact of Jesus' mastery of the sea. In Matt 8:27 and Mark 4:41 the disciples tremble that "even the sea" obeyed Jesus. Who was this man who could tame the strange and terrifying sea!??!

I wonder....Is there room to "fear a great fear" in these days? We have calculated the elements and mastered the sea (well, except for that nasty little Titanic episode!). But for most of us we have a certain control over our lives. We are not subject to the tossing waves or the anger of the sea. What need have we to fear Yahweh? Or to offer sacrifices? Or to make and fulfill vows? What does it mean to "fear a great fear"? Or must we, in these days, fear vicariously through the ruddy sailor's of Jonah's story?

Fear of God is, for the most part, gone in these days. Most of us who do fear God prefer to focus on grace and love. And perhaps this isn't something to lament. For example, there are those who have experienced much fear at the hands of an abusive father or spouse. Do these really need another angry father? Is there not enough fear in this world?

Perhaps this is the case. Perhaps we need smaller doses of fear and greater doses of mercy and grace in a world that is thirsty and parched of love. Nonetheless, I still wonder about whether or not I don't need "the fear of God" put in me once in a while. Because to fear God is, in many respects, to be forced to put ourselves at God's mercy and provision. The end result, at least for the sailor's, was a dedication to Yahweh. Perhaps we need large doses of love, and yet we also need small doses of fear?

The Apathetic Prophet

Jonah 1:4-10

And Yahweh hurled a great wind upon the sea and there was a great storm on the sea and the ship threatened to break apart. And the sailors were intensely afraid and each man cried out to his own god and they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had descended to the lowest recesses of the ship, laid down and fallen fast asleep. And the captain approached him and said, "How are you sleeping so soundly!? Get up! Cry out to your god! Perhaps your god will be concerned for us and we will not die."

Then each man said to the other, "Let us cast lots to know which one of us is responsible for this evil that has struck!" And when they cast lots the lot fell to Jonah. So they said to him, "Tell us! Who is responsible for bringing this evil upon us?! What is your occupation? And from where do you come? What is your country? And from what people are you?

So he replied to them, "I am a Hebrew, and I fear Yahweh, God of heaven who made the sea and the dry land."

Then the men were griped with fear and they said to Jonah, "What have you done?!" For now the men knew Jonah was running from the presence of Yahweh, for Jonah had told them.


Guess whos living here
With the great undead
This paint by numbers life is fucking with my head
Once again

Life is good and I feel great
cause mother says I was
A great mistake

Novocaine for the soul
You better give me something
To fill the hole
Before I sputter out

Eels
"Novocaine for the soul"
Beautiful Freak
1996


The storm is wicked! The waves and breakers are tossing the ship about as though it were a play toy in the hands of a restless and rambunctious little boy. The superstitious sailors are desperately and passionately pleading to their gods for salvation from the vicious elements. All hope seems lost. But in the midst of the chaos steps a prophet of Yahweh - the god of heaven and dry land, the God of gods. This prophet of the true God is the savior. Like Superman to the rescue...well, not exactly.....

Jonah is not the superhero prophet that he could have been. In fact, he is asleep in the bottom of the boat. How is he in such a deep sleep? Good question. Stuart suggests depression as the cause (457-58). That Jonah would have suffered some state of depression seems entirely consistent with the previous events. He has resigned his post as prophet of Yahweh. He has left his family and friends and possessions and has hoped a ship to who-knows-where; anywhere but Nineveh. He has denied his calling, disobeyed his God, and fled the presence and face of Yahweh. Any surprise that depression would set in?

Maybe this is a depression from self-pity. Or maybe it is just a depression brought on by his isolation. Or perhaps there is a spiritual isolation. Jonah has fled the presence of God, he has cut off his line of fellowship with God. As such he seems to have retreated farther and farther inward. He announces to the sailors that he "fears" the God of heaven, but what does that mean? For the jittery sailors it throws them into even more of a state of terror than they thought possible. There is an irony at work here, I think. The sailors are the ones who seem to be truly afraid of Yahweh. They fear for their lives! But Jonah's declaration strikes me as simply apathetic and routine. He has just been awakened from a deep sleep. Probably a sleep brought on by a depressive state. He has renounced his calling and his God. And yet he announces the superiority of Yahweh and declares his "fear." (See Wolff 111-12, 116)

The contrast between Jonah and the sailors is stark, and it is important. The narrative is contrasting a prophet who should have feared Yahweh, but in reality is fleeing his presence with the heathen sailors who actually do fear Yahweh. These are superstitious sailors who belong to a polytheistic and syncretistic culture. A culture not entirely unlike our own in its relativistic and pluralistic approach to religion and spirituality. On September 11, 2001 we heard a similar call as those made by the sailors: "Everyone cry out to your own god!"

In the time of distress Jonah sleeps. He is apathetic, lonely, depressed, and asleep. The narrative reveals sailors that are desperate, fervent, and feverishly working for their salvation. Wolff puts it this way:

Here Jonah's fear is far removed from the acknowledgment of the sailors in v. 5: there is no trace here of that elemental dread of destruction. He certainly "fears" Yahweh, but without any of the reverence which repents of the attempt at flight, and acknowledges his guilt before his God. He has still turned away from Yahweh's face, in spite of what he knows about God - indeed in spite of his experience of helplessness on his flight. (Wolff 116)

Sasson puts Jonah's situation very simply: "Heathens remind him of his mission, of the land and of the people he left behind in his rush to avoid his duty" (Sasson 126)

God's storm and the frenzy of the heathen sailors jolt Jonah out of his apathy. Or at least it should. We will see in the verses to follow how Jonah responds.

What does it look like when we flee from the presence of God? Are we reduced to a sleep-like, spiritual existence? Do we take on isolation, unconcerned with the world around us? Are we apathetic even to our own survival and welfare?

Do we miss our calling and our impact in the world around us? Do we, like Jonah, find ourselves in the ironic position of bringing the true God to those who do not know him while we, ourselves want nothing to do with him? Affirm him to the world and denying him as a reality in our own soul.

Man on the run

Jonah 1:1-3
And the word of Yahweh came to Jonah, son of Amittai saying, “Go, immediately to the great city, Ninevah, and cry out against it; because their wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah rose up to flee to the sea from the presence of Yahweh and he went down to Joppa, and found a ship going to sea and paid the fare and went down into it to go with them to the sea - away from the presence of Yahweh.

The first three verses are simple and to the point: God tells Jonah to go, and Jonah says, "No." Well, he doesn't speak the words, of course. Rather, he just turns around and heads the other direction effectively ending his career as a prophet. This isn't the gig for Jonah. Not anymore.

What was so threatening about God's call? Jonah is called to the "great" city of Nineveh. Great because of size and/or because of importance. Most of our modern day prophets would jump at the chance to hold some revival meetings at the prominent city of the day. Think of the high-status of the converts! Think of the cash flow! This is Jonah's shot at the big time.

God isn't asking Jonah to do anything except preach and rail against the city. The text literally reads that Jonah is to "cry out against" Nineveh. Sounds like street preaching. It also sounds like it might be right up Jonah's alley. As we continue on in our drama we will see that Jonah has some pent up bitterness against the Assyrians - against Nineveh, and for good reason. So, why not take that negative energy and channel it into some hell-fire-and-brimstone preachin'? Who better to proclaim the doom of Nineveh than a prophet with a chip on his shoulder?

But Jonah is not just any old prophet with attitude. He has some very deeply rooted anger. And this, of course, is one of the central issues of the book which leads to a showdown with God later on. But notice that for Jonah to skip town implies to me that he is ready to effectively resign his post as a prophet. (Stuart WBC 452-53) He is ready to hang it all up because this is a task that he is not up for.

And think of the things that God's prophets have had to do throughout the years? Hosea, for example, had to marry a whore to illustrate in a vivid way the spiritual adultery that his nation had committed against God. And then when his whore wife left him to go back to prostitution Hosea had to humiliate himself by purchasing his wife from her pimp. Given the choice between Jonah and Hosea's situation I think I would opt with Jonah's job description.

God had given his prophets some absolutely absurd tasks - some difficult messages to preach, but consider: None of them said no. They might agonize, debate or otherwise grumble - but they didn't flat out run. Jonah ran. Jonah effectively slapped the face of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The mighty Elohim. (Stuart 453)

In the opening verses of Jonah it is easy to read through them quickly and miss the critical significance of Jonah's action. He is saying no to Yahweh, and this is no light thing. There is no precedence for it. What compels Jonah to act in this extreme? What drives him to resign his prophetic post and flee from his land and people and God? What is it about Jonah and his calling that makes it a worse fate than Hosea?

Stuart puts it this way:
Jonah represents an anomaly. He actually disobeyed God's word, so deep was his hatred for a nation whom God loved, and his resentment that God would do something good for a people who had done so much that was bad. (453)

What we are introduced to in this passage is Jonah's hate. But also catch the subtle point here in these first three verses. Even though God had called Jonah to "cry out against" the city of Nineveh there was an implication that God would show mercy and forgiveness if the city of Nineveh turns to Yahweh for forgiveness. God sent a prophet to warn the city. This warning was an extension of God's hand of mercy. A plea to turn or to face destruction. And it is this act of love that Jonah could have no part of. Send another prophet! There were plenty of others around. This was a golden age for prophets. (Stuart 453) But don't send me.

Jonah was on the run. Out to sea. Anywhere to get away from this call. Did he feel safe when he boarded the outgoing vessel? Did he have a second thought? A sentimental longing to stay in his homeland? For the ones that he loved? Or perhaps he was so driven by hate that a cold, harsh sea journey with cold and hardened seamen was a welcomed relief. Did he feel a sense of relief? Perhaps a bit of peace in knowing that he had eluded this task. As much as he may have feared the unknown, his trepidation was nothing compared to the dread of holding out the possibility of salvation to the city of Nineveh.

We end in verse 3 with the focus on Jonah and Yahweh. This book is, after all, a showdown between the two. Jonah is fleeing from the presence of Yahweh. The calling is too much to bear - so much so that Jonah would sacrifice the presence of his God to get away. The split has occurred. The relationship is fractured. Anger and hate of this kind must be protected and nurtured, at any cost. For Jonah the cost was literally everything he had.

Jonah - A biography

The person of Jonah and his personal experience are central to the message of the book that bears his name, as contrasted to, for example, Samuel or Amos; the book is written about Jonah biographically, rather than reflecting primarily the message he preached. (Stuart WBC 431)

The book of Jonah is a biography. It is a drama about a man and his deeply rooted resentment of a people, a race of people and a nation of people. The drama explores the spiritual and psychological being of a man whose resentment and thirst for vengeance cannot be quenched. Amazingly, this man is a prophet. A spokesman for God. Delivered from the wrath of the ocean he nonetheless cannot accept the fact that Yahweh would similarly deliver Ninevah. Hence, we have a drama about the Other - the ones who deserve resentment.

When one considers the grand event surrounding the drama it is amazing that any one person's gripes and complaints should be entertained. Consider. The preaching of a prophet brings about the repentance of an entire city. And not an ordinary city, but a great city. A prominent city. An important city. The prophets of our day and age would surely find a way to capitalize on such success! A marketing and fund raising campaign would result in bankrolling the prophet and his successors for generations to come. Followers would flock for decades if only to walk in the footsteps of a genuine revival - never mind the fact that Yahweh had long abandoned the premises.

But maybe that is part of the intrigue. Despite such a large-scale work of God we are drawn into a personal show-down between Yahweh and His prophet. We explore the resentment that fuels vengeance that has only blood as its object. But isn't God a just God? And isn't Israel God's chosen people? There is not apology or repentance that can satisfy Jonah. And so we witness the stand off.

The prophet doesn't budge.

Will we budge?

Should we budge?

What does it mean to budge?

Let's blog through the drama of Jonah. No. Better yet, let's slog through it. Take our time and explore.