The problem is that sometimes I think this answer is given out whether or not the one giving the answer is really convinced that an idiom is being used.
John Smithson wrote:
What does this mean. I am sure it is not what I am thinking. It appears to be saying that Bill may be speaking without personal conviction in his own conclusions.
Actually, I was thinking about others in the past who use the "figurative" explanation as a matter of convenience. If a passage does not line up with their pet theory, they fall back on, "oh, that passage should be understood figuratively" or "read it allegorically and the problem goes away." Presbyterians who embrace amillenialism especially are eteched in my mind as examples of those who do this. Recently, it was John MacArthur's article that Jonathan shared with us that brought it to my mind. There certainly has been a lot of pressure upon him to lay aside his views about when Jesus became a son. Many accused him of attacking the doctrine of the Trinity. For a fundamentalist, that is very troublesome. So he seems to have come around and embraced the eternal sonship viewpoint, but his argument in support of it was very weak. He basically explained how he now simply views Psalm 2:7 figuratively, and he finished the entire article with the following statement:
John MacArthur wrote:
"I therefore affirm the doctrine of Christ's eternal sonship while acknowledging it as a mystery into which we should not expect to pry too deeply."
A mystery into which we should not expect to pry too deeply? Yeah, I guess that does sound like he does not have any huge personal convictions about it. If I had a teacher at school who explained something that raised questions in my mind, and then that teacher told me that the whole subject was a mystery and that he would not be taking any more questions about it, I would think that teacher was hiding something or maybe did not know what he was talking about.
Peace be with you.
David Miller.
---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
