[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] ZION IN LUTHERAN CHURCH NAME

[Otto]

On Sep 25, 2010, at 3:40 PM, MIKE MCHENRY wrote:
> Can someone tell me the significance of ZION in a Lutheran church  
> name?
> MIKE_______________________________________________


Good evening Mike,
or perhaps "Moin Mike" is preferable.

You have a way of asking a mouthful in one sentence. . . This is not  
quite the site for religious discussion or instruction yet I offer  
enough to stimulate your interest to do research on your own. The  
following words contain enough thought conveying terms to be  
successfully researched on Wikipedia and Google.

The word Zion in a church name is not limited to Luther's persuasion.  
Many churches adhering to the Christian construct espouse the term  
"Zion.'
"Zion" is a Hebrew name. Do not confuse the the religious reference to  
Zion in the Bible with the political reference to "Zionism" of present  
day. They remain two different subjects, one religious, the other  
political.

The name Zion is used in a literal sense and also as a figure of  
speech. For Jews the term "Zion" became a synecdoche referring to the  
entire city of Jerusalem and the Land of Israel.  By the way, Oskar  
Schindler, of "Schindler's List" fame, is buried on the literal Mt.  
Zion for saving the lives of 1,200 Jews. This is the Mt. Zion of the  
Last Supper. Jesus was held under arrest on Mt. Zion at the house of  
Caiaphas, the high priest.

Christians, in harmony with the Hebrew and Greek scriptures upon which  
the Christian construct is built, refer to the "New Jerusalem" or  
"spiritual Jerusalem"  in which their hope is founded.  The Hebrew  
scriptures (a good read as are the Greek scriptures) refers to God  
dwelling on Mt. Zion.

The use of the term "Zion" may be to identify oneself as a Bible-based  
Christian belief. . . "God dwells on Zion."
The term "Trinity", as used by Philipp Schwarzerdt a.k.a. Philipp  
Melanchthon as also John Calvin (Reformed), is oft times included in  
church names. (I personally find no evidence of a trinity in the  
Hebrew or Greek scriptures {Jewish writings} and will make no further  
comment on the term. . . Michael Servetus came to the same conclusion  
as I,  John Calvin had him burned at the stake. . . very slowly.)

A quikk reference to some Mt Zion events:
http://www.ctsp.co.il/LBS%20pages/LBS_mt_zion.htm

. . .   Otto
          " The Zen moment..." wk. of January 01, 2010-
                   _____________________________________
                   "Satisfaction . . . lurks in the answers."