Discipleship, Hope, Relativism, and In relationship

Word Definitions and Meaning

ver. : 22 March 2008

discipleship, hope, humility, relativism, in relationship

What Is Discipleship ?

discipleship : a disciple is one who undertakes the discipline of his/her teacher. Thus, discipleship is about learning what that discipline is, learning how to follow, to listen to the Story. Discipleship is part education, part mentoring, part apprenticeship, but it goes a step beyond all of those. Disciples not only take in what they are taught and what they learn from being with the teacher, they take it into their core identity, so it defines who they are. The Church has a duty before God, a call to "make disciples of all nations". Evangelism is the beckoning, the calling in, and the opened door. Discipleship is the hallways inside.

You can also check the dictionary.

What Is Hope ?

Hope [ Old English hopian (to hope)]. Anticipating something good to come in the future. (One does not hope for what one already has, though one can hope it continues.)

As usual, the Bible describes what hope means, and says what it is there for. God's followers hope for God's will be done on earth as in heaven. Or, said another way, the Christian hopes for the fruition of what has already begun, the full arrival of God's Kingdom. We pin our hopes on the God of that Kingdom.

The New Testament word for hope is various forms of Greek elpis. The closest Hebrew words are the verb forms of yachal. Paul wrote in several places about what hope leads to or makes : patience, courage, joy. Hope makes us stable (Colossians 1:23), and we are saved in hope (Romans 8:24). It is one of the three things which last : faith, hope, and love (1 Corinthians 13).

Christians hope in God's promises, and especially hope in the God who delivers on His promises. The promises of God to us are found all over Scripture. Hoping in the wrong thing or the wrong source is eternally fatal. (It is also a kind of idolatry.)

You can also check the dictionary definitions of 'hope.

What is relativism ?

relativism [ < Latin relâtivus, adj. form of relâtus (brought again) ppart. of referre : re- + lâtus (to bring, carry)].

(1) when the members of your family keep butting into your life (for instance, when your mother moves in and your sister borrows money from you). See also 'nepotism', in which you are foolish enough to hire them.

(2) The idea that all truth is relative. The scientific root of this is Einstein's theory of relativity, which states that the difference between mass and energy (which are all that materially exists) is just a conversion factor related to time. This means all that exists changes in relation to all else that exists. Treated as an -ism or ideology, this means the very idea of an absolute (even of an absolute, unconditional God, or a permanently definitive revelation from that God) is seen as a harmful fiction. In relativism, there can be one who is a 'god' when compared to you, and a briefly-effective revelation of how that god is or was at a given moment. But it's a sometimes-God who kind-of-reveals sort-of-truths, and loves us in widely-varied amounts most of the time. In relativism, there is no such thing as clear morality, no such thing as authoritative or firm truth, and right and wrong are figures of speech with only a sorta/kinda meaning which does not endure.

If the Bible is right, the word 'relative' is not quite the right term. It's better to say "all truth is in relationship". The God of the Bible is in a relationship with a people (the Jews), called a "covenant". The Torah was given so we might know what it takes to live in relationship with each other in accord with God. The actions of God's Son, Jesus Christ, are done to restore the broken relationship of all people and all creation with God. If God is a trinity, then there is a unique kind of relationship within God, though none of us are in any position to describe it. Also, it's said that "God is love", but 'love' is a relational term that is meaningless outside of relationship. (You don't just 'love'; you love someone or something.) Prayer is the communication through which the human-God relationship works.

You can also check the dictionary definition of 'relationship'.