The Fifth Way: A Journey to the Heart of an Aramaic Jesus by David Brisbin, MDiv, LPPC

By all reasonable accounts the Christian church is in decline right now. Consequently, I am grateful that Fifth Way: A Western Journey to the Hebrew Heart of Jesus courageously applies the latest in Bible scholarship to trace out, in a very personal manner, the implications of living a Christian life that reflects the unquestionable Jewishness of the Aramaic Jesus.

Cover art for Dave Brisbin's second revised
version of The Fifth Way: A Western
Journey to the Hebrew Heart of Jesus.

David Brisbin is championing a fresh take on the Aramaic Jesus, an approach which may turn things around for Christianity and provide the wholesome insight of Christ to a new generation of believers. As such, I see Brisbin’s book as an extremely important contribution in a world where it seems as if pastors themselves are perhaps too squeamish about the messy details of Bible scholarship. In contrast, Brisbane’s book suggests a fresh approach to life that depends on trust in God, comfort with ambiguity, and a large dose of forgiveness. In my view, these are three ideas that remind me a great deal of the teachings of Jesus himself. Brisbin even seems to mirror Christ’s somewhat annoying mysterious by asserting that the Fifth Way taught by Jesus cannot be adequately captured in books.  It can only be experienced by living life, moment to moment, in complete trust in God.

As far as I can tell, Brisbane perspective is influenced by – but cannot be reduced to - his sincere seeking of the Lord in the context of Brisbin’s shame as both a childhood survivor of sexual abuse and as a Catholic divorcee. His carefully planned book presents us with a compelling account of the scriptural study and daily practice which left him content with the cheerful knowledge that he is loved by God.  His main metaphor is the vision that we are frogs living in a deep well, blind to the realities of the larger world outside the well. As we ask God to help us, Brisbin suggests we may be surprised to experience shovel loads of dirt dumped on our heads. Brisbin suggests that what seems like an inappropriate response to our heartfelt prayers may actually be our God’s rather mundane way of filling up our wells and slowly raising us up to the surface of the planet.

As a political scientist, I especially enjoyed the manner in which Brisbane describes the other four ways by leveraging the work of Josephus, a first century Jewish historian. As you may remember, Josephus categorized Jewish political life around the time of Jesus according to different ways of reacting to the impact of Roman colonialism. Brisbin, for example, sees the Sadducees as yielding to superior force and profiting from their control of the Second Temple. He sees the Pharisees as seeking to manipulate that superior force through religiously based arguments. He sees the Essences as fleeing the oppressive situation by moving to isolated desert locations where they practiced a monastic lifestyle. Brisbin surprises me the most, however, by including the Zealots in his model. He sees the Zealots as the ones who resist through their efforts to fight back against Roman rule, an effort highlighted by the Zealot’s willingness to die at the Judean fortress Masada.

In this historic context, Brisbin sees Jesus teaching a healthier Fifth Way.  For example, Brisbin relies on existing scholarship to help us better understand the words of Jesus through the lens of the Hebrew/Aramaic language and traditional Jewish idioms. This focus on the Jewishness of Jesus makes Jesus’s words much easier to understand and less likely to cause befuddlement or off-the-cuff rejection.

As such, I think it is fair to say that Brisbin’s The Fifth Way represents a rather substantial popularization of recent scholarship regarding the creation of the New Testament and shares Brisbin’s excitement regarding the potential healing qualities of an improved understanding of the Aramaic language and the Jewish culture of Jesus.  Consequently, I also think it is fair to say that this is a timely and contemporary book that puts this new scholarship into an agreeable and practically accessible form. It leaves us with a fresh take on Jesus which, for most readers, should take away much of the guilt, shame and confusion they may experience when they initially access the New Testament. Brisbin’s book will also give those who are already intuitively clear about the consistency of Jesus’s message quick access to the source material they need to persuade those who may, or may not, be relying on the latest linguistic and scientific advances in Christian theology.

I imagine that Brisbin’s critics will point out that Western civilization - with all its guilt and shame - seems to have been doing pretty well without the assistance of what we learn from modern Bible scholarship.  

Even Brisbin suggests that while increased information can easily give us a truthful and easier-to-understand Jesus, it may not give us the sort of Jesus that appeals to television viewers or facilitates the growth of large standing armies. Nevertheless, I suppose the good news about the Good News is that Brisbin has paddled into the ocean of this new scholarship and he has now come back to report to us that the surfing is pretty good. His personal testing of this Fifth Way gives me confidence that greater scientific knowledge about Jesus and his Jewishness will allow us to hold tight to much of what is most attractive about Christianity, while also allowing us to mercifully dispense with what has become unattractive and inappropriate about Christianity. From my perspective as an ex-Marxist, Tea Party activist, I can report that I feel comfortable with Brisbin’s overview of contemporary issues and his defense of a slightly more complex Christian world view, a world view which allows me to feel more comfortable with divorce and assisted suicide, while still allowing me to remain unhappy with gay marriage and the sheer evil of Communism.

After attending Brisbin’s church and reading his book, I certainly have the feeling that he is a good guy to have as a friend and that his cheerful manner provides a realistic way to enjoy a joyous and free life.  The book provides a dependable example of this approach when he reports how he attempted to help a young women deal with anger, guilt, and shame she felt for a friend who left the Christian faith for Judaism and then later committed suicide. The story shows us how Brisbin’s perspective allows him to comfort the young woman through Biblically based knowledge in a manner reminiscent of how Jesus himself dealt with religious conflicts and deep-seated guilt. This story certainly provides an accurate description of the Dave Brisbin I have met in real life at the church, theeffect, where he serves as the teaching pastor.

Over the course of the book, the reader will experience some of the healing and comfort Brisbin provides on a daily basis. With his words, we gain a contemporary look at the historic Jesus who offers a Fifth Way in which we can escape the stoning of our peers and simply go and sin no more. It is a book that will soften the heart of the Christian atheist and enlarge the heart of the Christian seeker. It may even be the book that turns things around for the Christian church and the larger civic culture that depends on it.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

It Takes a Village: Rethinking the Prodigal Son with Ken Baugh

Trish and I visited Capo Beach Church in San Clemente yesterday to hear our ex-pastor, Ken Baugh, speak on the topic of the prodigal son. I say ex-pastor when I should say real pastor, since I feel like a step-child who absolutely refuses to acknowledge the new dad in mom's life. At any rate, our real pastor set the prodigal son story into a fresh framework regarding how village life took place in the time of Christ.

The gist of the message is that it makes all the difference in the world to see the prodigal son and his father as living in the center of a small village surrounded by a protective wall. This, of course, is in contrast to my usual vision of the father as living on a large hacienda in the middle of a ranch in the middle of nowhere. As far as I can tell, Baugh's fresh perspective is inspired, in part, by Kenneth Bailey's book, Finding the Lost Cultural Keys to Luke 15, (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 1992).  A later version of this book, The Cross & the Prodigal: Luke 15 Through the Eyes of Middle Eastern Peasants (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 2005) was honored in 2006 as a "Year's Best Book for Preachers" by Preaching magazine.

The gist of the argument is that the prodigal son is a much more exciting story when you see the story retold from the perspective that both the father and son were living in a tight compact village. In this interpretation, the son's demand for his inheritance looks more disrespectful, and his sudden desire to cash it out and move to another country looks like a means of escaping the offended villagers. Likewise, the father's running out to meet his prodigal son looks more like an attempt to protect the son from the hostility of the villagers than a made dash of parental enthusiasm. Finally, the feast itself appears to be a way of rehabilitating the prodigal son into the life of the community. 

As such, this version of the study - as a tool of insight into the personality of God - leaves us with an image of a God who is willing to sacrifice everything to win back his errant son. In a larger sense this interpretation is quite significant, as I understand it, since Muslims have used this story to suggest that Jesus's sacrifice is unnecessary to securing God's forgiveness. When we reinterpret the story as a tale of the father's sacrificial love, then the Christian meaning of the story becomes more clear. 

At any rate, it was great fun to see Ken Baugh in action again. This was one of his most interesting sermons and a real eyeopener when it comes to understanding Jesus in his own historical context. It was refreshing to see Ken Baugh in good form. I should also report it looked to me like there were about 18 of us Coast Hills Church folks in the crowd. Our attendance was a subtle reminder for Ken Baugh that we have his back and that we miss him, his message and his trustworthy scholarship.

Not Now Honey, I'm Sniping: My Take on Clint Eastwood's New Film

I am surprised to report that I was disappointed in American Sniper. I thought it was going to be a glorified look at how the U.S. is using every tool in its toolbox to stop Islamic extremism. Instead, I was treated to a version of Chris Kyle's life that celebrates his ability to multi-task regarding his over-watch responsibilities with his wife's need for attention.

While I would have been okay with an Navy SEALs in Iraq version of Top Shot, I found myself bored that Clint Eastwood gave us a remarkably clumsy romance, nearly constant marital discord, complaints about Chris Kyle's emotional unavailability. Instead of the informative, heroic story I was looking for, I witnessed Chris Kyle obsessively calling his wife back home in the U.S. (I find it annoying when my wife calls me at work.) I was not expecting to see a film about how war interferes with domestic tranquility.

For all these reasons, I was not surprised to learn from a recent story in PJ Media that Taya Kyle played a large role in the film according to lead actor, Bradley Cooper.

When filming, Cooper said he was focused on being accurate toward Kyle’s character, so his personal thoughts about America’s War on Terror did not come into play. “The honor, it’s right there, I’m standing next to Taya Kyle and any time you get to play an individual who has really lived, or is alive, that’s a privilege but especially when it’s this man, Chris, and the fact that we were going to do it while he was alive and then I continued once he died and she really was the reason why it became the film that it became, you know, that’s the honor,” Cooper said at the Washington screening of American Sniper, which was directed by Clint Eastwood.

I have a hard time understanding why this movie broke so many box office records given its decidedly misguided approach . It was fun, of course, to see a little about Navy SEAL training. I was reminded of those moments in my own life when, in the company of other men, you needed to know that a man is straight before you mercilessly joked about him being a fag. By end of the movie, however, the only parts that really got my attention where the examples of Islamic cruelty in the form of a woman pressing her child into grenade throwing, an evil enforcer who uses a drill on a child, and a sudden invasion of a restaurant/torture chamber. The parts of the movie that caught my attention were not consistent with either Kyle's book or the truth.

Concerns about how the Qur'an encourages child soldiers, the murder of innocents and the use of cruel torture techniques had little resonance with Mr. Cooper:

PJ Media asked Cooper if working on the film changed his perspective of the War on Terror.
“Never even thought about it. It was all about being accurate toward that character [Chris Kyle] and what he went through and that’s always been the intent … to create and reflect the human that I got to know and that she [Taya Kyle] knew as her husband,” Cooper said.

Following tradition, Kyle's fellow warriors pounded 
more than 100 Navy SEAL trident pins into his casket.

I thought this movie was popular because it was a creative take on how the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history managed to accumulate 160 confirmed kills out of 255 probable kills by blowing off the heads of those who wish us ill. After all, American Sniper is based on Chris Kyle's autobiography American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History. This movie, however, seems do everything its power to distract from content advertised in the book's title. For me, the best part of the film was watching the work of Kevin “Dauber” Lacz, a former Navy SEAL who served two combat deployments to Iraq. In a couple of scenes, Lacz is shown calmly and quickly picking off the bad guys in a manner that I believe was reminiscent of the real Chris Kyle. Lacz was brought into the film as the SEAL technical adviser and was persuaded by the star, Bradley Cooper, to play a role in the film.

The movie had so many liberal micro-aggressions in it I am starting to wonder why liberals pan the film as an ideological affront. One of the bad guys - an expert insurgent sniper, "Mustafa" - is portrayed as a person who is at least as courageous as Chris Kyle. Mustafa is a former Olympian who works alone and jumps from rooftop to rooftop like a fully armed deer. Eastwood wants to remind us that our enemies have virtues too. Later, angry Iraqis swarm Chris Kyle's unit in a not so subtle attempt to let us know the U.S. is not entirely popular among the people it is trying to protect. The moral of the film seems to be that if you are going to survive as a sniper you need to repress your intellectual curiosity about your cause and listen to your wife about when it is time to quit.

All in all, I have to agree with the critics who see this movie as a troubled look at war, instead of a patriotic celebration of how the U.S. delivers justice overseas. I am with David Denby of The New Yorker who described the film as "Both a devastating war movie and a devastating antiwar movie, a subdued celebration of a warrior's skill and a sorrowful lament over his alienation and misery."

Among conservatives, we are apparently so hungry for a positive portrayal of American soldiers that Eastwood's Hollywood version of Chris Kyle's book is met with praise from Sarah Palin. I still do not get it. I would have liked to have learned more about what made Chris Kyle and Kevin Lacz effective snipers. I would have been okay with being exposed to some of the boredom of sniper life. I am disappointed with a portrayal of this American hero which seeks to remember him mainly as a triumphant family man.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Partial Redemption: Three Elders from Coast Hills Church Share Positive Impressions of Ex-Pastor

Last night, about 25 folks from Coast Hills Church met with three members of the board of elders at a private home in Laguna Niguel. They were there to justify their decision to fire pastor Ken Baugh. Ironically, they ended up releasing information regarding their own bylaw violations along with positive information that reinforced the case that they unjustly dismissed Baugh.  

The elders at the meeting included Greg Holmes, Bill Nixon and Rhoads Martin. One of those questions brought up the issue of term limits for elder board members. At Coast Hills Church, elders are limited to two (2) three (3) year terms. The elders indicated that they have not been following these regulations. The Coast Hills Church website, by the way, indicates that Gary Luke, a roofing contractor, has served as the chairman of the elder board for at least 12 consecutive years.  

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For a quick look at what Ken Baugh is doing for our community right now, please check out the website for his The Institute for Discipleship Training. This website will show you the wonderful creativity, compassion for others, and intense scholarship which informs Baugh's ministry even today.

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As far as I am concerned, the failure of the board of elders - including Gary Luke - to follow and enforce our church's bylaws is a terrible sin. It strikes me as a sign of considerable arrogance. For the elders at this meeting to suggest that their selfish desire to hold on to power over the rest of us - in violation of the Coast Hills Community Church bylaws - is somehow consistent with God's will is too bizarre to consider from a Biblical perspective. 

The good news for Baugh is that the elders saw absolutely nothing wrong with his service morally, ethically, or spiritually. In fact, they liked him so much that they even considered giving him a lower paying "teaching only" job. This is quite interesting since the Bible tells us that teaching is the primary skill required of church leaders. See, 1 Timothy 5:17 English Standard Version (ESV) which states:

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.

Another bit of good news for Baugh is he had surprised them with his performance in the job of senior pastor. Initially, the elders had only expected him to last two years on the job. This was due to the challenge of taking over church leadership from the charismatic Denny Bellisi. Apparently, Baugh's level of success as both a manager and teacher impressed them. They kept Baugh on for almost a decade.

In general, the feedback I have received from those who attended this meeting is that they were still disappointed by the elder board's decision. For example, I received the following note from one of the attendees:

We are still stunned by the abrupt announcement and loss of an excellent pastor/teacher. Even after a meeting with three of the elders last night at our D-Group, (we) are not convinced of any solid basis for this decision. Trusting that God has better plans for Ken, and that we can continue to learn from his deep knowledge of the Word. In the meantime, I'm on Yelp looking for a new church that has similar substance to continue to inspire our Christian walk.

At the meeting, the grief over the loss of Baugh was painfully apparent. A number of people were openly crying. One lady expressed sorrow about Ken Baugh's absence, and said she only wished that she could have had a chance to say goodbye to him before he left. Among those who found solace in this gathering, I can report that they are grateful these three elder board members seemed to be open to new ideas and improved communications.  

For now, however, it is plain to me that the elder board does not understand that they made a devastating mistake. 

As a former business school professor, it strikes me that they are relying on magical thinking to distract themselves from the painful reality that they did immense damage to Baugh's national reputation by abruptly and recklessly dismissing him. Through this decision, they humiliated a beloved pastor and permanently scarred his national reputation. They also gravely harmed Coast Hills Church as an institution. They sent an unfortunate message that they apparently have as little respect for their pastors as they do for their bylaws.

Coast Hills is not a cult. In my view, the fact that the elder board is violating the portion of God's truth contained in the Coast Hills Church bylaws is cause for the rest of us to demand their immediate resignations. Rule breakers like Gary Luke and his fellow elders are bad examples to the rest of us. They are unworthy of leading our church. If they insist that breaking the rules is the new normal, then I will not be eating any of that elder chili.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.

Not So Good: Thoughts on Resisting Arrest

I have been pondering how our society is supposed to be able to function in an environment where we teach young black boys and girls that it is okay to resist arrest. This seems like a crucial issue right now given the rioting and protests associated with two black fellows, Michael Brown and Eric Garner, both of whom resisted lawful arrest.

It turns out that there is some constitutional law out there which defends our right to resist "unlawful" arrest. It is worth reading here.

Apparently, this is a real issue and a ton of African-Americans seem to think it is okay to resist arrest. For example, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer did a study in 2008 and asserted that within the city of Seattle, "African-Americans were arrested for the sole crime of obstructing eight times as often as whites when population is taken into account." See, Nalder, Eric; Kamb, Lewis; Lathrop, Daniel (2008-02-28). "Blacks are arrested on 'contempt of cop' charge at higher rate". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. 

According to the paper, they treated an obstructing arrest as "stand-alone" if that was the only charge or if all other charges were for closely related offenses, such as resisting arrest. By this standard, the number of black men who faced stand-alone obstructing charges during the six-year period reviewed was equal to nearly 2 percent of Seattle's black male population.

I think this pattern is the result of a dysfunctional culture in the African-American community that teaches it is okay, even right, to resist arrest. I'm afraid we are going to see a lot more stories along the lines of Michael Brown and Eric Garner unless we make significant efforts to change this culture so that it respects the authority of police officers.One place to start might be to change the way police officers are portrayed in rap or hip hop music.

Here's an incredible video of a black police officer who has apparently gotten caught up in gangsta culture. It is a striking indication of how deep this sickness in black culture goes.

If we are going to have an intelligent conversation about race in this country, then one of the top topics need to be how do we go about stopping cultural trends which make it acceptable to resist arrest.

John C. Drew, Ph.D. is an award-winning political scientist.