Hello dmt2005~
1. All names in the Old Testament are significant and have deeper
meanings. Typically, names allude to the character of the person.
Here's the significance of some of the names of the major players in
Exodus:
* Moses means "drawn out," and harkens back to how he was left in the
Nile and drawn out of it by the Pharaoh's daughter.
* God refers to Himself as "I am." (Ex. 3:14-15) This refers to the
name "Yahweh" (Jehovah, translated to English), which is a form of the
verb "to be," meaning specifically "I am..." Using this word to
decribe Himself, God identified Himself as the author of life and the
creator of everything. "I am who I am" tells us that nothing defines
God but God Himself.
* The meaning of Aaron's name is uncertain, Bible scholars tell us.
* The name "Lord" first came about as a translation for the Hebrew
word YHWH, because in late Old Testament Judaism it was customary not
to pronounce the sacred name YHWH.
* Miriam means "bitterness," which hints at her feelings of jealousy
and bitterness toward her brother Moses, the leader of the Hebrews.
* Jethro means "excellence," hinting at the character of Moses'
father-in-law. It was Jethro who taught Moses to delegate tasks to be
a more effective leader.
* Bezalel means "in the shadow of God," which hints strongly at the
idea that although Bezalel was architect and designer of the temple,
he was following God's plans for the new building.
*Joshua means "the Lord is salvation," a fitting name for the man who
succeeded Moses as leader of the Hebrews. Under Moses, many had
forgotten how God had saved them from slavery, and what God had in
store for them in the future. Under Joshua, it was hoped they could
learn to remember.
2. Jesus' time in the wilderness, before He began His ministry, lead
to His temptation by Satan. This testing confirmed His commitment and
understanding of God's plan and His acceptance of the path that He
must take.
3. When Saint Anthony was about twenty years old, he attended a church
service and heard the story of the rich young man to whom Jesus said
"If thou wouldst be perfect, sell what thou hast and give it to the
poor, and thou wilt have treasure in heaven; and come follow after
me." (Matthew 19:21.) Anthony was so struck by this passage that he
felt it had been spoken to him personally. He sold off his property
and distributed the resulting money to the poor; he also left his
sister (who was in his care) with some Christian women and set off to
live in the wilderness. Thereafter, he earned a livelihood by working
with his hand, and collecting alms.
4. Augustine wrote: "Where there is no true religion, there are no
true virtues . . . For what kind of mistress of the body and the vices
can that mind be which is ignorant of the true God, and which, instead
of being subject to His authority, is prostituted to the corrupting
influences of the most vicious demons?” In other words, though humans
may set up a moral code, true virtue will not result because no moral
code but that which comes from God is truly just and moral. Mankind's
rules are always open to interpretation and change. God's rules are
constant. In addition: "The implication was, of course, that religion
must be false if it cannot so contribute to the generation of
morality. No doubt there is some considerable truth to this feeling.
For worldly or moral success must itself be a result of religious
faith and action for us to take it seriously. True thought, true
virtue, true religion, it is suggested, must go hand-in-hand as if
they belonged together in a coherent whole." (James V. Schall, S. J.,
Georgetown University, to the Conference Panel on "Religion and the
Generation of Morality,"
http://www.morec.com/schall/articles/morality.htm )
5. Aquinas felt that the incarnation was the most suitable way for God
to reach out to mankind with instruction. To him, the incarnation was
a merging of the divine and human nature--but Christ was human only in
his outward appearance (not in his soul), and all "human
potentialities" were made perfect in Jesus. He felt that while Jesus
was given vision by God, that vision must be finite because it was
filtered through an imperfect human form. He felt that Christ could
not be omnipotent because omnipotence in no way goes along with the
human form. He also felt that Christ must have some imperfections, so
that his humanity was truly evident. ("Thomas Aquinas," The Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy,"
http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/a/aquinas.htm )
Keywords Used:
"Acts of the Apostles" Antony hermit "rich young man"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=%22Acts+of+the+Apostles%22+Antony+hermit+%22rich+young+man%22&btnG=Google+Search
Augustine "true virtue" "true religion"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Augustine+%22true+virtue%22+%22true+religion%22&btnG=Google+Search
Aquinas theory of incarnation
://www.google.com/search?q=Aquinas+theory+of+incarnation&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N
Hope this helps!
kriswrite |
