This write up helps to broaden our focus and understanding about the blood of Jesus Christ even if we would like to use it in our hymns and prayers. I once heard someone praying to dedicate an electronic equipment in church and he said, "I soak this equipment in the blood of Jesus." It then struck me that if this equipment is soaked in a "blood" of any kind, it might not function well. I think that the use of the blood of Jesus goes beyond the mixture of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma and other dissolved components. The blood encapsulates the life and personhood of the living (the living soul). The blood of Jesus encases the life and person of Christ. The observance of the Eucharist highlights the significance of that meaning of the blood .... demonstrating the essence of the person of Christ, as part of the Trinity. Our use of the blood of Christ should not be in the narrow sense.
Thanks for your thoughtful critique of womanist theology. I thoroughly agree with the first and third of your responses. They’re both familiar to me because they’re bedrock beliefs of Eastern Orthodoxy, the faith I now embrace. Your second response suffers from excessive literalism, which led you to make the astonishing claim that “there is no salvation in the blood of Jesus and never was.” The saving power of Christ’s blood is a non-negotiable part of Christian faith and piety, but needs to be interpreted in the framework of your first and third points.
This write up helps to broaden our focus and understanding about the blood of Jesus Christ even if we would like to use it in our hymns and prayers. I once heard someone praying to dedicate an electronic equipment in church and he said, "I soak this equipment in the blood of Jesus." It then struck me that if this equipment is soaked in a "blood" of any kind, it might not function well. I think that the use of the blood of Jesus goes beyond the mixture of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma and other dissolved components. The blood encapsulates the life and personhood of the living (the living soul). The blood of Jesus encases the life and person of Christ. The observance of the Eucharist highlights the significance of that meaning of the blood .... demonstrating the essence of the person of Christ, as part of the Trinity. Our use of the blood of Christ should not be in the narrow sense.
Thanks for your thoughtful critique of womanist theology. I thoroughly agree with the first and third of your responses. They’re both familiar to me because they’re bedrock beliefs of Eastern Orthodoxy, the faith I now embrace. Your second response suffers from excessive literalism, which led you to make the astonishing claim that “there is no salvation in the blood of Jesus and never was.” The saving power of Christ’s blood is a non-negotiable part of Christian faith and piety, but needs to be interpreted in the framework of your first and third points.