Acts 2:24 Redux

[Paul Younan]

Dan,

I am not hateful of anyone. Nor am I prideful of being a part of any nationalistic or linguistic group. If I were either, I wouldn't have married outside of my ethnic and linguistic group.

What I do strongly defend is the integrity of the teachings of an Asian Man in their original context, both culturally and linguistically. Because His teachings are the basis of my faith.

The teachings of this Asian Man have been hijacked, both culturally and linguistically for the last 2,000 years. He has been remade, and His words have been recast into a foreign tongue. And it is this very foreign tongue that is esteemed today as the basis of Christianity.

Meanwhile, His people have been marginalized and baked in ovens. And his cousins who speak His language have been marginalized in Councils in another empire other than their own.

I'm tired of this propoganda. I'm tired of being told that we are just another sect of Christianity, which we are not. We don't use that name. How would you like if I called you something that you don't use?

When the Western Church stops placing labels on me that I reject, as did those who came before me, then I will return the favor.

I'm not a "Nestorian" - I never met the man and neither did anyone in the 2,000 year history of our Persian Church. Is that hard to understand? Nestorius was a Greek - I'm not a Greek.

I'm not an "East-Syrian." Syria is not in Beth-Nahrin. I'm an Assyrian. Is that hard to understand?

I'm not a speaker of "Syriac." That's a Greek term. I'm a speaker of Aramaic. My ancestors, the Assyrians, spoke Aramaic. They made Aramaic the lingua-franca of its day. In other words, I tell you what I speak - not the other way around. I don't tell you what you speak, you tell me what you speak and I'll accept it. If you tell me your language is called "Aasdfkbhsdfjb" by you, then I will refer to your language as "Aasdfkbhsdfjb."

In other words, Dan (and I'm not talking to you directly), stop reshaping and remaking me into an image based on your specifications. That's what they did 2,000 years ago, and that's why your scriptural tradition is in the shape that it is in today - the laughing stock of all scriptural traditions.

I don't know why you think I'm upset, or I'm here to make friends. I'm not upset, and I'm not here to make friends. I have plenty of friends. I'm not a priest, preacher, counselor, therapist, role model or even a terribly nice person.

I'm not doing this so that I can paint a facade and run for a popularity contest. I'm not anyone's spokesperson. I don't care to be the poster-child of the Aramaic Primacy movement.

I'm here to fulfill a promise I made to my God. In the process, I'm here to debate with anyone who wishes to debate against my perspective. Dave is one of those people who's willing, if not able, to debate the other side of the issue. He will stand or fall based on the strength of his argument, or his ability to present it.

In my perspective, there has been no greater damage done to the teachings of my Lord than the following, in order of importance:

(1) The remaking of His message into a foreign language
(2) The making of a Religion named after Him into a state-sponsored faith

The way to really earn my anger, which has only happened rarely and which Dave hasn't done, is to somehow implicate me or my history into the above two travesties.

I have nothing to do with Nestorius. Not the LXX, not the GNT. I have nothing to do with Ephesus or Nicaea. I have nothing to do with Constantine the mass-murderer. Nothing to do with the Crusades, with the Spanish Inquisition or with the Pilgrims. Nothing to do with the Reformation or Auschwitz. I have nothing to do with the slave ships which brought bar-Khela's ancestors here and stuffed the GNT down their throat. I have nothing to do with Western Christianity, good or bad.

My history is different than this.

So, don't call me a Christian. First of all, it's a Greek term that I don't accept. Second of all, it was used by Greek believers in Antioch. I'm not from Antioch.

In Mesopotamia, we called ourselves Meshikhaye after Meshikha. "Christian" denotes a history that I'm not a part of. Neither is Andrew. Have you noticed that Jews who believe their Meshikha do not call themselves "Christians", either?

You respect their wishes. right?

Respect mine.