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
