Great oral essays about such a huge subject matter. I’m still having difficulties in understanding the clear conceptual distinction between the everyday meanings of the English words ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom’, though.
In addition, it’s not always easy not to confuse the personal dimension with the social one. And if we indulge in tasting the latter, there comes plenty of thought-provoking and appealing ideas of critical social science or critical theory. But that is a very different animal than ours.
Now I would table one side-aspect of the question and that is salvation or deliverance and some implications. We could sum up the great news as Yeshua had PAID THE PRICE of the (past, present and future) sins of Israel to—among other things—save them and others from the finality of earthly death, as well as from the hell part of Sheol. Moreover, he provided guidance to his people of that generation so that they wouldn’t be pulled down to eternal destruction. On top of it, by shedding his blood, he offered reconciliation with Yahavah to every human being. In consequence, all the posterity is a beneficiary of his work on the cross. It could be described figuratively as if the nation of Israel were unbearably DEEP IN DEBT, but someone came with an undeserved, unconditional BAILOUT. I sense some money words used in Hosea 13:14: “I shall RANSOM them from the power of Sheol; I shall REDEEM them from Death.” (Later, it was quoted by Paul, too.)
When the people of Israel sing Hallelujah, as I know, they use a term associated with a Babylonian ritual. A shorter word was used when debtors were released from DEBT BONDAGE or servitude (and the freed person’s forehead was ritually anointed with oil). So a kind of EXEMPTION and thus liberation took place. Interestingly enough, in my country, along the roads connecting the towns, there are still many intersections near the villages with crosses made of stone, wood or other materials with the crucified Jesus on them. As far as I know, most of these crucifixes used to be erected by small communities in the countryside with a farming population, as a thankful tribute to the deliverance or liberation of the bondservants, when they were freed from serfdom—in which they owed their landlords TAXES, free drudgery or slave labor. Apparently, they are the folk memories of Christianity here, but in reality, a socio-historical explanation is needed to paint a more complete picture.
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Great oral essays about such a huge subject matter. I’m still having difficulties in understanding the clear conceptual distinction between the everyday meanings of the English words ‘liberty’ and ‘freedom’, though.
In addition, it’s not always easy not to confuse the personal dimension with the social one. And if we indulge in tasting the latter, there comes plenty of thought-provoking and appealing ideas of critical social science or critical theory. But that is a very different animal than ours.
Now I would table one side-aspect of the question and that is salvation or deliverance and some implications. We could sum up the great news as Yeshua had PAID THE PRICE of the (past, present and future) sins of Israel to—among other things—save them and others from the finality of earthly death, as well as from the hell part of Sheol. Moreover, he provided guidance to his people of that generation so that they wouldn’t be pulled down to eternal destruction. On top of it, by shedding his blood, he offered reconciliation with Yahavah to every human being. In consequence, all the posterity is a beneficiary of his work on the cross. It could be described figuratively as if the nation of Israel were unbearably DEEP IN DEBT, but someone came with an undeserved, unconditional BAILOUT. I sense some money words used in Hosea 13:14: “I shall RANSOM them from the power of Sheol; I shall REDEEM them from Death.” (Later, it was quoted by Paul, too.)
When the people of Israel sing Hallelujah, as I know, they use a term associated with a Babylonian ritual. A shorter word was used when debtors were released from DEBT BONDAGE or servitude (and the freed person’s forehead was ritually anointed with oil). So a kind of EXEMPTION and thus liberation took place. Interestingly enough, in my country, along the roads connecting the towns, there are still many intersections near the villages with crosses made of stone, wood or other materials with the crucified Jesus on them. As far as I know, most of these crucifixes used to be erected by small communities in the countryside with a farming population, as a thankful tribute to the deliverance or liberation of the bondservants, when they were freed from serfdom—in which they owed their landlords TAXES, free drudgery or slave labor. Apparently, they are the folk memories of Christianity here, but in reality, a socio-historical explanation is needed to paint a more complete picture.