George,
I concede that my statement, "I therefore suggest that in 1Cor.1:19 Paul
is speaking of what _must_ eventually occur on earth _because of the
cross_.", is an incomplete rendering of the verse. Because the
Apostle's words are here addressed to a particular body of believers it
follows that the 'ever present truth' - propagated through preaching -
viz that Christ and his gospel have overcome the 'wisdom of the world' -
was information that could only have been apprehended by the
_spiritually discerning_ . In other words, the unbeliever must
necessarily remain forever ignorant of the fact that the 'wisdom of the
wise' _in this sense_ has been destroyed. That is why I look to at
least one further stage in the complete fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy
- believing the failure of worldly wisdom is destined to be witnessed
and acknowledged by all mankind.
I'm not sure what to make of your closing sentence. How about the
'wisdom' of subjecting God's revelation to the demands of a doctrine
which has captivated and inspired those atheistic monsters of recent
history, Hitler and Stalin? One gathers that the evidences for evolution
must indeed be overwhelming! I am therefore interested to know which of
these you consider to be the most compelling.
Again, speaking of God's 'fingerprints', what is now your considered
opinion regarding the explosive package of numerics that inhabits the
Hebrew of Genesis 1:1? In my view they have much to tell us about the
character of God, of his _modus operandi_ , and more (leading even to
the destruction of the wisdom of the wise!?) - hard information we can
hardly afford to spurn in these hazardous days!
Shalom,
Vernon
Vernon Jenkins wrote:
> George,
>
> Yes, thank you for making this important point. However, it is
> abundantly clear that we are some considerable way from the fulfilment
> of Phil.2:9-11: "...God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
> which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should
> bow...and that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the
> glory of God the Father." In other words, we have yet to witness _in
> fact_ the destruction of the 'wisdom of the wise'. I therefore suggest
> that in 1Cor.1:19 Paul is speaking of what _must_ eventually occur on
> earth _because of the cross_.
Paul does not speak of this as a future event but as something
God has
already accomplished:
"Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?" & how God does this
is not
simply by the cross as an historical event but by "the word of the
cross" - i.e.,
the proclamation of Christ crucified by which Christ is made present to
hearers.
Thus Paul is speaking about something that is neither purely future nor
purely
past but as something present whenever Christ crucified is preached.
& the "wisdom of the wise" that God makes foolish is the ideas
of those
who insist in one way or another (Jews & Greeks) that God has to conform
to their
concepts of what kind of God God must be. The signs & wonders God & the
God who
insists on "leaving his fingerprints all over the evidence" are a couple
of
examples of such "wisdom."
..............................
> I therefore see no reason to retract or modify what I've already said.
I would hope that more careful attention to what Paul actually
says in I
Cor.1 & 2 would persuade you to reconsider.
Shalom,
George
George L. Murphy
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
"The Science-Theology Interface"
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