Re: Calvin, Accomodation, and the Trinity

Dick -

I would agree that God's revelatory activity with the human race goes back to its beginnings - not so much because of empirical data but because I think that's 1 of the theological motifs of both Genesis creation stories. But that doesn't mean that God revealed everything in the beginning, let alone that humanity understood everything God communicated. & evidence for human religious activities, such as those that you or Glenn cite, are not necessarily indications that people were worshipping the true God even in a corrupted fashion. Religion, with its attempts to get in touch with the divine on humanity's terms, earn the favor of the divine &c can be a sign precisely of human alienation from God. I made that point again in my recent PSCF article.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: Dick Fischer
  To: ASA
  Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 11:23 PM
  Subject: RE: Calvin, Accomodation, and the Trinity

  Hi Rich, you wrote:

>>You may be right but it is impossible to know that you are right.

  And likewise when George disagrees. I can't prove it's right and George can't say it's wrong. Well, he does anyway.

  I just think it is possible that the roots of Christianity may be longer and deeper than we have thought. The Jewish religion carries into Christianity. That we know. But some of the elements of our faith appear to precede the Jews themselves. Certainly the idea that a god could die and return to life is deep rooted. Would God allow some pertinent theological ideas to float around awhile before the real thing arrived? Might He have sent up some trial balloons before offering his son? I can think of some reasons to do that. But I can't prove it.

  Dick Fischer

  Dick Fischer, Genesis Proclaimed Association

  Finding Harmony in Bible, Science, and History

  www.genesisproclaimed.org

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Rich Blinne [mailto:rich.blinne@gmail.com]
  Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 4:32 PM
  To: Dick Fischer
  Cc: ASA
  Subject: Re: Calvin, Accomodation, and the Trinity

  On 6/9/06, Dick Fischer <dickfischer@verizon.net> wrote:

>

>

>

>

> Hi Rich, you wrote:

>

>

>

> >>I commend to you Calvin's caution found in his commentary on Genesis

>

> 1:1 about having Scripture saying more than it does.<<

>

>

>

>

> Please, quote somebody who lived within the last four hundred years! What

> is Calvin's opinion about biological evolution, or Big Bang cosmology, or

> the theory of relativity?

>

  I quoted someone that old in order to deal with the issue of novelty

  in that we are only dealing with recently raised issues. I wanted to

  show that current day accomodationists are in the mainstream of

  Reformed thought and if I wanted to deal with the issues you have

  raised I would have quoted them.

>

>

> Both the Accadian and Sumerian pantheons of gods in the earliest beginning

> started with only three. Calvin would have no way of knowing this. In

> essence, theologically, we have come full circle. Even the Trinity we

> believe in today has similarities with the original Accadian triad: Anu

> (ilu), Ea, and Enlil. And Jews are connected both biologically and

> theologically.

  Figuring out the theological views of ancient Jews seems to be just as

  speculative as figuring out their scientific views. When

  accomodationism and concordism get speculative like this they are both

  at their weakest IMHO. It's just safer in my opinion to find other verses

  in Scripture to defend the Trinity.
Received on Sat Jun 10 12:43:23 2006