----- Original Message ----- From: "Warren Ockrassa" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Killer Bs Discussion" <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 3:14 PM Subject: Re: Babble theory, and comments
> On Apr 3, 2005, at 5:40 PM, maru wrote: > >> No, the real question is, since there are (or should I say were?) >> countless Catholics praying for the Pope's recovery, and odds >> dictate that at least *one* of those oodles of Catholics shoulda >> had 'faith as a mustard seed', why didn't the Pope recover? since >> Jesus promised that believers with even minuscule (ref. the size o' >> a mustard seed) faith would have their prayers answered. > > This is one of the problems with most of the modern interpretations > of the Gospels. Where Iasus was being metaphorical, he is taken > literally; and where he was being literal, he is taken > metaphorically. > > The mustard seed is just such an example of metaphor being taken as > real. If you believe strongly enough you are not going to levitate > and float around in the air, nor are you going to resurrect a dead > man. Obviously Iasus was referring to the quiet sort of > perseverance, the Faulknerian endurance, that lets life and even > rational hope persist when conditions are so harsh as to suggest > that there's no point at all in continuing. > > So too with the bread and wine, in this case a literal being taken > as having deeper meaning than was intended. He wasn't suggesting > that consuming bread and wine was a holy sacrament, and he certainly > was not suggesting they would transubstantiate into flesh and blood. > He was being very direct, very literal. The wine is life. The bread > is life. Do without either -- discard food, or discard drink -- and > you die. This is my body. This is my blood. When you are eating > together, think of me. Remember the times we shared. Keep the > message of hope alive. > > But politics, as it inevitably does, corrupted the messages. There's > no holy spirit for anyone to serve, and there's no god directing > hearts or minds, so naturally you have to expect typical human > up-fuckery to get in the way. Warren, that is a good example of the kind of Atheistic thinking that I respect. It matters little whether one agrees or disagrees about the specifics; the general idea you propose is one most Christians should be able to discuss and compare with their own beliefs (and faith) without feeling insulted. Your take on the mustard seed is practically an exact synopsis of a lesson we were given one afternoon by our parish priest at the Catholic school I attended over 35 years ago. Some people like to build dams, others prefer to build bridges, I'll cross your bridge and shake your hand! xponent Catlick Maru rob _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
