If you were a parishioner going to the Lutheran Church in Weimar, Germany on the 3rd Sunday of Lent, March 24, 1715, you would be exposed to what would become the 54th Cantata of JS Bach entitled “Stand Steadfast Against Transgressions“…..Bach’s Church Cantatas are based on Scriptures related to the Lutheran Liturgical Season calendar…In this performance there is but one woman’s voice, an alto…..The instruments are 2 violins, a viola, a cello, a bass, and pipe organ…..The mood of the 3-movement piece is sober in keeping with the overall reflective, purple mood of Lent…..What is striking when learns what was done in Christian Churches of yesterdays is folk apparently came to Church 3 consecutive days for Christmas & Easter…..There is little doubt that the Church and it’s doings of yore played a far bigger part in the common persons life compared to today….. A quick review of Traditional Christianity follows…..He or She believes in the Authority of the Bible which speaks of a Triune God…..Christ sacrificial crucifixion atones for the sins of all it matters to…..Christ’s resurrection and ascension into heaven are proof of His identity and God’s sin forgiveness for humans that feel the need for it…..Following Christ is a choice that some are compelled, for a variety of reasons, to make…..The ideal Christian life is achieved by allowing the Holy Spirit to lead him or her to live a morally and ethically (read: 10 Commandments, examples of Christ, and so on)…..A Christian should feel the need to help a lost world find itself and God/Christ along the way….The celebration of the Eucharist or Lord’s Supper by a follower basically commemorates and reaffirms what she or he believes…..The rest of Christianity is controversial, less important, but still fun to talk about with people that have the right attitude towards our latitude (Romans 14-15:13) in beliefs …..The English language translation of German language Cantata follows…..
ARIA…..Stand firm against sin, otherwise its poison seizes hold of you…..Do not let Satan blind you for to desecrate the honor of God meets with a curse, which leads to death.
RECITATIVE…..The nature of loathsome sins is indeed from outside very beautiful; but you must afterwards with sorrow and frustration experience much hardship…..From outside it is gold but if you want to look more closely it is shown to be only an empty shadow and whitewashed tomb…..It is like the apples of Sodom and those who join with it do not reach God’s kingdom…..It is like a sharp sword that goes through our body and soul.
ARIA…..Who commits sin is of the devil, for it is he who has produced them…..But if against its despicable mobs with true devotion you stand firm, sin has at once fled away.
I’m curious to any and all reactions and commentaries to all of this…..
First Pres Joliet 
March 17, 2017 at 6:34 am
C.R., Once more a creative approach and subject matter. Here are my key points of interest in this . 1. The authority of the Holy Bible; Many church going people do not regard the Bible as absolute truth, but rather dwell on inconsistencies contained in it, such as the number of animals someone owned in different accounts of the same story, etc., and how can God be both all loving, and yet punisher of evil. 2. Awareness of sin; many today do not consider sin as an evil but rather a result of a fallen world, therefore they are the victim not the perpetrator of such deeds. 3. Morality and ethics; the ends justify the means in our society, as long as we get to the desired goal, does it matter how. 4. Following Christ today, and feeling the need to show the lost world how to find Christ; this is condensed to merely going to church, sometimes we serve coffee, sometimes we usher, sometimes we give someone a ride, but don’t ask me to do too much. 5. You left out Baptism; an act today of joining the church, or dedicating a baby, not at all what the writers of the new testament had in mind when it was often associated with salvation in the Hebrew world, which even then was not at all what we imagine today, but much more closely related to the Mikveh, which the priests were required to do as a washing, or cleansing, before service in the temple. 6. Latitude ?
March 17, 2017 at 7:10 am
“The nature of loathsome sins is indeed from outside very beautiful; but you must afterwards with sorrow and frustration experience much hardship.” If we could but see the end result of sin would it convince us to resist temptation? I fear that it would not in many (most?) cases. Therefore, I am thankful for the weekly opportunity to confess because my sin can be so easily passed over in my daily life.
March 17, 2017 at 7:30 am
Barb, we’re more lost than that. Some, possibly most, know the results of their committed sins and gleefully do them anyway. In the traditional society, sin was put in an unfavorable light, as the cantata attempts to do, in an effort to dissuade. Nowadays, Hollywood promotes sin as something Hollywood laudable. The results are predictable (Prov. 14:34). Something, I’ve learned about living – a stupid answer is quite content with itself, a reasonable response always looks to improve upon itself. As you say, confess, but hopefully avoid in the future.
March 17, 2017 at 7:13 am
Karl, you’re speaking to Christianity as it exists today, not the “Traditional Christianity” of JS Bach. Of course, Christianity like everything else gets more screwed-up get with the passage of time, unless something is done about it. Algebraically, that’s Entropy > 0, otherwise know as the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics – every bit as philosophical as it is mathematical. This may be news to the evolution crowd, that everything and system we know of on this planet is on a path of rot and decay with the passage of time, but that’s what’s observed – shelf life! Maintaining the status quo requires human effort. As a Victorian home owner, you must have an appreciation for this. Baptism is a controversial subject – the modes, the timing, etc. We have the spiritual baptism (essential) and the water baptism (important)…The evidence of latitude in Christian beliefs is church denominations…Or, do you belief that anyone outside of your own highly developed, personal belief system is lost…Some do…A bit, ostentatious that…
March 17, 2017 at 8:11 pm
C.R. I even wonder about you?
March 18, 2017 at 9:09 am
Karl, You’r justified in your wondering about me. I wonder about me. The only constant I’ve been able to discern about myself is my flux, it’s always been that way. I’ve certainly not arrived, but at least I’ve left. The human condition is that of wonder. Those who don’t wonder about every aspect of living including their faith, I really wonder about…..
“A wonderful fact to reflect upon, that every human creature is constituted to be that profound secret and mystery to every other.”
– Charles Dickens, “A Tale of Two Cities”
March 18, 2017 at 11:00 am
Good start, I really appreciated the depth, research and interpretations. You all present ideas that help me grow deeper in my learning.
Then, hmm?? this sounds too personal – like Facebook. I miss our Bible studies where we can ask questions and discuss.