From: Dawsonzhu@aol.com
Date: Tue Sep 17 2002 - 11:03:18 EDT
Ian Hassell wrote:
> Were Christ's references to Jonah and the flood simply his
> misunderstanding of the scriptures? Did He really believe that
Jonah was
> swallowed by a big fish? What are the implications to our
acceptance of
> the
> OT, and to a larger extent our acceptance of Christ, given these
quotes
> from
> him?
I often refer to Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and have sometimes
referenced Jonah as well. They are descriptive of life, personality,
and character, and we all can identify with them quite well. Jesus
very well could have referenced them for that reason, just as I might
reference MacBeth's lament, Hamlet, Arthur Dent (Hitchhiker's
Guide), etc.
Having faith does mean accepting some uncertainty in what you
know. It is in the "unseen". If the Bible were plain and simple
fact, everything could be easily verified and there would be no need
for faith anymore. Only a real fool would chose to question it at that
point. But it's not that simple. What I think we are really saying as
believers in God, and in a gospel where our savior was mocked and
crucified is that there is a lot more to life than plain and simple
measurable facts. Our faith then is that the universe is a lot more
complex than some people's philosophies would allow.
Some of the bible certainly must be true, or our faith is in vain.
The Exodus, and the resurrection are two examples. But not all
of the bible must be true (in the literal sense), for it to be a valid
reference for our lives. It provides examples that give us insight
into how to (and how not to) live out a Godly life. Not all such
descriptions must be 100% factually true and scientifically verifiable
to make their point. It is at that point that you have to make your
own decision where to draw the line.
by Grace alone we proceed,
Wayne
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Tue Sep 17 2002 - 11:42:38 EDT