Re: [asa] Opposing Anti-Evolution

1st, "learning" is of course not identical with "wisdom" in the biblical sense. & if context is the issue, the immediate context of the verses in I Corinthians should be considered. In Chapter 2 Paul makes it clear that there is an appropriate kind of wisdom for Christians which is different from the type of wisdom which he rejects in the verses Rich B cites. & in 1:30 that wisdom is identifioed preeminently with Christ himself - which in the context of that passage means Christ crucified.

Wisdom is given to those who are in Christ, who is the incarnate wisdom of God. I.e., it is not that God calls the wise but that God makes wise those who are called. As Luther puts it in the Heidelberg theses, : “The love of God does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it.”

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: RFaussette@aol.com
  To: rich.blinne@gmail.com
  Cc: pleuronaia@gmail.com ; asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Thursday, July 13, 2006 9:35 PM
  Subject: Re: [asa] Opposing Anti-Evolution

  In a message dated 7/13/2006 7:40:21 PM Eastern Standard Time, rich.blinne@gmail.com writes:
    19For it is written:
       "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
          the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."

     20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

     
  What are quotes without context?

  "Where does he get this wisdom from and these miraculous powers? Matt 13:54

  What wisdom is this that has been given him? Mark 6:2

  The child grew big and strong and full of wisdom. Luke 2:40

  Why do you not understand my language? It is because my revelation is beyond your grasp. John 8:43"

  I found the context for your quotes, the context you should have provided, for without context, you have no argument. I will provide the context for you, to show that even had you provided the context, you would not have had a defensible argument.

  Here is the context you might have provided. The below text is from wikipedia and shows the tension that produced your quotes which are made within the parameters of Jesus' critique of the pharisees. However, within the greater context of both the old and new testaments, which I was discussing, wisdom is the way to God. In John, Jesus says, I have been taught by my Father... If you dwell within the revelation I have brought, you are indeed my disciples, you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. John 8:29-33

  From wikipedia:

  Fundamentally, the Pharisees continued a form of Judaism that extended beyond the Temple, applying Jewish law to mundane activities in order to sanctify the every-day world. This was a more participatory (or "democratic") form of Judaism, in which rituals were not monopolized by an inherited priesthood but rather could be performed by all adult Jews individually or collectively; whose leaders were not determined by birth but by scholarly achievement. In general, the Pharisees emphasized a commitment to social justice, belief in the brotherhood of mankind, and a faith in the redemption of the Jewish nation and, ultimately, humanity. Moreover, they believed that these ends would be achieved through halakha ("the way," or "the way things are done"), a corpus of laws derived from a close reading of sacred texts. This belief entailed both a commitment to relate religion to ordinary concerns and daily life, and a commitment to study and scholarly debate.

  In the 4th century CE, Christians canonized a "New Testament" consisting of texts written between 60 CE and about 150 CE, which spell out a New Covenant and provides the case for its basis in the Bible. In the "New Testament" the ruling Pharisees of his time (the house of Shammai) are often represented as being the ideological foes of Jesus.

  An important binary in the New Testament is the opposition between law and love. Accordingly, the New Testament presents the Pharisees as obsessed with man-made rules (especially concerning purity) whereas Jesus is more concerned with God’s love; the Pharisees scorn sinners whereas Jesus seeks them out.

  Some scholars believe that those passages of the New Testament that present a caricature of the Pharisees were not written during Jesus' lifetime but rather sometime after the destruction of Herod's Temple in 70 CE, at a time when it had become clear that most Jews did not consider Jesus to be the messiah. At this time Christians sought most new converts from among the gentiles. They thus presented a story of Jesus that was more sympathetic to Romans than to Jews. Moreover, it was only after 70 CE that Phariseeism emerged as the dominant form of Judaism. For Christian leaders at this time to present Christianity as the legitimate heir to the Old Testament Covenant, they had to devalue Rabbinic Judaism.

  There is nothing more important to salvation in the OT and the NT than knowing and living by the wisdom of God, in fact, knowing the law so intuitively that it is written on your heart.

  rich faussette

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Received on Thu Jul 13 22:53:12 2006