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
