{"id":25702,"date":"2014-08-21T09:50:54","date_gmt":"2014-08-21T13:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/?p=25702"},"modified":"2014-08-21T09:50:54","modified_gmt":"2014-08-21T13:50:54","slug":"heavenly-hierarchy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html","title":{"rendered":"Heavenly Hierarchy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t get far.<\/p>\n

We were up to James 1:17<\/a>, and I decided not to let the cosmological and theological assumptions behind the notion of good gifts coming down from above, and God as the \u201cFather of lights<\/a>,\u201d pass by without comment.<\/p>\n

For most ancient people, the lights in the sky were the hosts of heaven, celestial beings<\/a> which were far above us but near enough to see. Placing God above them, unchanging, was often coupled with the view that matters in our realm are overseen directly by celestial subordinates.<\/p>\n

Talking about God as \u201cup there\u201d situates God much further away, if one\u2019s view of how far one can go in that direction is informed by the Hubble telescope.<\/p>\n

James Adamson<\/a> renders the entire phrase in James 1:17\u00a0in the following interesting way: \u201cthe Father of lights, whose nature suffers neither the variation of orbit nor any shadowing out (as in eclipse)\u201d (The Epistle of James<\/em>, p.97<\/a>).<\/p>\n

We also found ourselves talking about the reference to God\u2019s unchanging character, and the contrast with other texts which depict God as repenting<\/a>. While some might approach the discrepancy by trying to make one set of\u00a0assertions fit with the other, it makes more sense<\/p>\n

The notion of \u201chosts of heaven\u201d reflects the idea that the skies above us\u00a0are populated by luminous beings, who regularly come among us. It is no surprise that science fiction and the mythology of\u00a0UFOs often intersect with the themes and stories of ancient mythology.<\/p>\n

And so, in concluding, let me share\u00a0this cartoon<\/a>\u00a0which illustrates what\u00a0the notion of a\u00a0celestial hierarchy might look like,\u00a0transplanted into our present scientific era:<\/p>\n

\"Universe<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break. We didn\u2019t get far. We were up to James 1:17, and I decided not to let the cosmological and theological assumptions behind the notion of good gifts coming down from above, and God as the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":25705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[503,622,2219,3372,4005,4476,4479,4829,5051,5521,7857,12344,13072],"class_list":["post-25702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-james","tag-aliens","tag-angels","tag-cosmos","tag-father-of-lights","tag-god","tag-heaven","tag-heavenly-host","tag-hubble","tag-immutability","tag-james","tag-mythology","tag-telescope","tag-ufos"],"yoast_head":"\nHeavenly Hierarchy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break. We didn't get far. We were up to James 1:17, and I\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Heavenly Hierarchy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break. We didn't get far. We were up to James 1:17, and I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-08-21T13:50:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ReligionProf\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James F. McGrath\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html\",\"name\":\"Heavenly Hierarchy\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-08-21T13:50:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-08-21T13:50:54+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\"},\"description\":\"This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break. We didn't get far. We were up to James 1:17, and I\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Heavenly Hierarchy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/\",\"name\":\"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath\",\"description\":\"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf\",\"name\":\"James F. McGrath\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"James F. McGrath\"},\"description\":\"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf\",\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof\",\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Heavenly Hierarchy","description":"This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break. We didn't get far. We were up to James 1:17, and I","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Heavenly Hierarchy","og_description":"This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break. We didn't get far. We were up to James 1:17, and I","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html","og_site_name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","article_published_time":"2014-08-21T13:50:54+00:00","author":"James F. McGrath","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ReligionProf","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James F. McGrath","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html","name":"Heavenly Hierarchy","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-08-21T13:50:54+00:00","dateModified":"2014-08-21T13:50:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf"},"description":"This past Sunday in my Sunday school class, we dived back into the Letter of James after a long break. We didn't get far. We were up to James 1:17, and I","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2014\/08\/heavenly-hierarchy.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Heavenly Hierarchy"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/","name":"Religion Prof: The Blog of James F. McGrath","description":"The Blog of Dr. James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University, Indianapolis","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/78342576667b872e3d259c153ce4c5bf","name":"James F. McGrath","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/88ca096942acd474313f7ef4227a49da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"James F. McGrath"},"description":"Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. BD University of London, PhD Durham University. Author of John's Apologetic Christology, The Only True God, Theology and Science Fiction, and The Burial of Jesus, as well as (with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) the two-volume Mandaean Book of John critical edition, translation, and commentary. Also author of numerous articles (and a few science fiction short stories) and the editor or co-editor of several volumes.","sameAs":["https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Ge8ul5","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/religionprof\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/jamesfmcgrath\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jfmcgrat\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/ReligionProf","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/religionprof","https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/James_F._McGrath"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/author\/james-f-mcgrath"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}