jt JD you are
disingenious from the
start. While claiming to be a pastor and not a
theologian you title this little rant against God's
Word 'A heuristic consideration' which
is 'theological' - The word isn't even found in a
regular dictionary
JD: so the word is poorly chosen because it is
not in one of your
"regular dictionaries?" I have a Websters and and a Cambridge
dictionary and the word appears in both. We, all of
us who study the biblical message, are putting
scripture together in an effort to make the Message work
for us with the least amount of problems.
"Heuristic' has to do with that very
process.
jt: Actually I found a larger dictionary with the
word in it - still it has nothing to do with understanding
scripture. It is from German heuristisch ie: helping
to discover or learn, specif. designating a method of
education or of computer programming in which the pupil or
machine proceeds along empirical lines using rules of
thumb to find solutions or answers. This has nothing
to do with Holy Spirit revelation and would not
be understood by ordinary every day sheep (the ones
God calls).
JD: Apparently you are upset that I did not
include myself as being a theologian.&n bsp;
Thank you but, alas, I am a lowly pastor and nothing
more.
jt: Has God put you in a position to care for and be
an example to part of His flock? How can
you shepherd anyone or be an example to others of how
to follow Christ when you are not walking in the light
yourself? You have legalized God's Word and made it
into something it was never meant to be while ATST embracing an
entirely opportunistic message for yourself.
JD: Honestly, I have
no idea what this last sentence means.
jt: In all of your anthropological considerations
have you ever wondered
why only 8 persons were saved through the flood the first
time and why Jesus brings this up in Matt 24:38,39?
God was so pleased with 99.9% of the world population that
he destroyed them all. You and Lance remind me of
the Jews who clung to the fact that they were 'Abraham's seed' and that was
going to save them. You can quote your 'incarnation'
doctrine all over the place but if you do not have fruit
in your life meet for repentance - you will wind up in the
same shape as them. As for the things written aforetime (which includes
all of God's laws, statutes, and commandments); they were
written for our learning, that we through patience and
comfort of the scriptures might have hope. You can
throw them out if you like. As for me I believe "The
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul" and my
soul needs converting every day until it is
completely conformed to the image of Christ.
JD: And that is
fine. I cannot
ignore the comments in Romans 2-5 nor the entire
letter to the Galatians on this subject.
jt: The entire letter to the Galatians has to do with
Jewish legalism and Romans 2 is not teaching that
the
unregenerate have God's Law written on their hearts
JD. We have been over this before. Everyone in the
whole world is not immediately born again because Jesus
was born in a flesh body, died, and rose from the dead
historically.
My comments below constitute a substantive consideration that
would best be rebutted with equally substantive
comments. Emotionalism and judgmentalism are not
appropriate responses to argumentation. Such
is the reasoning of a lynch mob -- not a
student in a discussion forum. I will be glad to
consider any biblical or philosophical argument you may
wish to share. JD
A Heuristic Consideration
The scriptures I have seen used to support the Law
are scriptures written to and for and by the Jews on
that subject. The Law is a late date
administration coming hundreds if not thousands of years
after the creation event. When it was
presented to "mankind," it was given to an
extremely small part of "mankind." The
Old Testament is not the story (IMO) of the people of God verses the
condemned. Rather, it is the story of the people
of God AS DEFINED BY THE MOSICAL
COVENANT exclusive of any other
anthropological consideration. There
is no reason to believe that the rest of mankind is lost
and hell bound because they were not
Jewish. In fact, in Romans 2 gives us a
little insight int o just how things may have worked for
the 90% of humanity who were never given the
Law. Paul makes it clear (I believe)
that th e purpose of the Law was best seen in the fact
that it served as a tutor until the coming of
Christ................. who, in turn, reconciled the 10%
(the Jew) with the 90% (everyone else on earth).
Perhaps I have not stated things as accurately as I
might - being a pastor and not a
theologian. But the above needs to be considered
as we formulate our opinions on The Law.
JD
