<> Ask the Pastor The Rev. Walter P. Snyder Q: I am high school sophomore pursuing an interest in Christian doctrine. I have been researching material on the Christian doctrine's faults and the intellectual decline of the church through the centuries. How do you feel the Church has directed our morals and ethics throughout the times? Has it led to sin, examples of which are criticism of the Copernican movement and various priestly figures committing unethical sexual acts? A: The Church has sometimes been wrong, or has been "right" for the wrong reason. This is not because of God, but because of our fallen human natures. Sometimes theologians misunderstood science. At other times scientists were opposed not because of their theories but for other reasons; the theories were only scapegoats. For example, the problem with Copernicus stemmed somewhat from difficulties with Galileo---and he was opposed in part because of some of his attitudes toward Catholicism's hierarchy. As for deviant behavior, it happens in all walks of life. Sadly, this includes some in pastoral positions. For some, I think it occurs because people come to their ministers in times of weakness and sometimes they catch their pastors in a correspondingly weak moment. At other times, predators slip in. In still other instances, I think it is because some churches prohibit their clergy from legitimate (marital) sexual relationships and the strength of their human passions overwhelms their belief, leading to the behavior you question. Overall, however, the world would be lost without the Church. I mean this literally, for it is only for his Church that God has not already ended his creation and brought all believers to eternity with him. The moral leadership of the Church has done much good and has formed the basis of Western civilization and the rule of law. Where it failed, it was due to misunderstanding and misapplication of Christian doctrine, not because people correctly interpreted and lived according to the Scriptures. Q: What does IHS stand for? I noticed it on the cross at my church. A: IHS represents in Latin letters the first three letters of the name "Jesus" in Greek---Iota, Eta, Sigma. Other common churchly abbreviations you might see include what looks like an X superimposed on a P. These are actually the letters Chi and Rho, the first two letters of "Christ" in Greek. Sometimes you'll also see a scroll-like device attached to a crucifix with the letters INRI. These are the Latin initials for the inscription Pontius Pilate placed on Jesus' cross (also in Greek and Hebrew or Aramaic). Translated, they read, "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews." Q: Who are the "lost tribes of Israel"? My friend believes these tribes somehow were the first to colonize the United States. Can you help me clear up who the "lost tribes" were and how they got lost? A: Lost tribes, worlds, and civilizations have long piqued people's imaginations. Atlantis has been a popular myth for centuries. Regarding your question, these lost tribes are said to come from the destruction of the Northern Kingdom (Israel or Samaria) in 722 BC. Many people speculated as to what happened to the ten tribes who were carried off into captivity. We know that at least some of them survived as the "Samaritans" of Jesus' time (some are still alive today). Most probably intermarried in various exiles or in captivity and lost their identity with Israel. The idea that some or all of the "native" Americans were related to "lost" tribes of Israel pops up now and again in European and American literature. Another strain of this mis-belief is "Anglo-Israelism," which teaches that Anglo-Saxons were from the lost tribes. In 1794, Richard Brothers, calling himself "Prince of the Hebrews and Nephew of the Almighty," published a two-volume work, A Revealed Knowledge of the Prophecies and Times. His ideas were taken by others and expanded. Edward Hine expanded this idea to the Americas, claiming that the natives were descendants of the tribe of Manasseh. In its extreme form, Anglo-Israelism becomes strongly antisemitic and has fostered the beliefs of such people as separatist Randy Weaver. Other strains of "lost tribe" theology worked their way into a different strand of American religious belief. This was through the writings of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons). Smith taught that the tribes came to America and that most perished. However, they were said to have been survived by a book, written on golden plates, that Smith claimed to have found and translated. This translation purports to be a history of the "Nephites," as they called themselves, from leaving Palestine to wars with the "Lamanites" and their demise. That's it for now. You can submit questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951; E-mail xrysostom@aol.com; or just stop me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches in Jasper and Woodville, Texas and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1999 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.