From: Don Perrett-VP GPA (donperrett@genesisproclaimed.org)
Date: Sun Oct 13 2002 - 06:05:08 EDT
I couldn't have put it better myself. Just because our interpretations of
the Bible don't fit into our little world, does not mean that it isn't
accurate. In almost every lie there is some truth. IOW, the truth is in the
Bible even if the story may seem to have changed somehow, due to language or
culture. What was true then is true now. My belief and understanding is that
Christ came not to change the word but to fulfill it. Some say that refers
to prophecy. I say it refers to bringing back what the original meanings of
God's commands were. From Moses up to Christ some people had begun to be to
strict and others to sinful. He came to let people know that one can sin and
be forgiven. That does not mean however that we should not follow the OT
laws it just means that when someone breaks the law they should be forgiven,
if they are repentant. If one does not know they committed a sin then they
are not sinning. If one knows they sinned and does not repent, they will not
be forgiven. If one knows they sinned and repents, but continues to commit
the same sin, then they will not be forgiven. Some on this list would
disagree. They would quote Christ as saying "Let he who is without sin cast
the first stone". But they would fail to mention that he also said "Go and
sin no more". He didn't say keep doing it, because you'll be forgiven. As
for factual events, every event in the Bible happened, as far as I'm
concerned. Even if we can't believe it or see it. We can't see God but most
believe in him. But many say that things such as the flood or Job or etc did
not happen because we can't see it happening. It may not be so direct an
interpretation and that is the problem. We must use our hearts not just our
heads to decide what is real. So whatever is said on this listserv, just
keep using your heart to believe in what you know to be real.
Don Perrett
-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu]On
Behalf Of Hassell, Ian C.
Sent: Friday, October 11, 2002 3:22 AM
To: asa@calvin.edu
Subject: What is your faith based on?
Wow. In my few short months on this list I've learned that much of the
supernatural record of the OT couldn't have happened (nor does it matter),
Jesus didn't distinguish between truth and fantasy in His teachings, Jesus
lied when describing the after-life, some (but certainly not all) of the
gospels may be true, Paul supported and taught positions that we have now
determined to be lies (homosexuality is a sin, etc.), the writers of the
gospels lied about Jesus' miracles (Peter walking on water), etc., etc. I
know that may sound like strong language, but either these passages in the
scripture were true or they were lies. Whether they were written out of
altruistic motives or not, truth is either truth or it is not. Ask any 3
year old.
I can't disagree that it would be infinitely convenient to my "faith" if I
were able to dismiss any parts of scripture that I think didn't agree with
our current culture (homosexuality, sanctity of life) or our current
interpretation of scientific evidence. But then is my faith really in an
all-powerful, all-knowing God or is my faith in my ability to rationalize
what I know about him with the current tides of popular culture and science?
Isn't this really Deistic Humanism? Or Humanistic Deism?
My first-ever post to this group asked the question - "if the Bible isn't
true, then what is your faith based upon?" I never received an answer,
rather I got a lot of long-winded explanations about the changing nature of
language, the difficulty of translation, the inability of us to know
author's intent, etc. If God intended us to have His word (as He references
several times within the Bible), if Christ re-affirmed the inspiration of
the OT (and taught from it) then wouldn't He have taken care to maintain it
throughout a couple thousand years so that our understanding of Him in 2002
could be as real as it was in 0002?
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