Re: bible ethics
George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Thu, 09 Dec 1999 09:04:29 -0500
Bjoern Moeller wrote:
........................
> Tom wrote this, and I can only consent. I believe this
> is essential to the ethics of Jesus; that he taught
> the law, that is, the ethical parts of it, as it was
> handed over to Moses. That was what he declared
> himself; that he had come to fulfill the law, and that
> includes the whole law. I have an idea about Jesus
> being the perfect virtuous man, but I'll leave that
> for another time.
> Besides, I think the theologians should deal with the
> biblical parts of the answer Wayne demands. ........................
One of the valuable insights of the Reformation is Christ is
not to be seen as the promulgator of a "new law" which differs in some
essential way from the Mosaic law - which in parts can be seen as "natural law".
In the _Loci Communes_ of 1521, the first protestant theology textbook, Melanchthon
condemns the view of the "godless Sophist professors of theology" - i.e., scholastic
theologians who "say that Christ has become the successor of Moses and has given a new
law, and that this new law is called the gospel." Of course this doesn't mean that
Christ & the apostles never teach law, but it it not a law fundamentally different from
the Decalogue and its implications.
Shalom,
George
say
George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/