tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post1949706288883448989..comments2023-08-23T08:45:53.071-06:00Comments on Paradoxy: MaturityEugenehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05431724892247691165noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post-8020165218672352522010-11-15T21:59:25.649-07:002010-11-15T21:59:25.649-07:00Brian,
Thanks for the encouragement, and for addi...Brian,<br /><br />Thanks for the encouragement, and for adding your thoughts to the discussion. As you said, some of the things the Apostle Paul wrote can be problematic if we fail to interpret them through the lens of Christ's teachings. Without that, and without fully understanding the cultural contexts that Paul was writing from (as we ultimately can't beyond a certain point), the result is a legalistic and sometimes irrational faith.<br /><br />It also quickly becomes a dead faith, when all matters are declared settled and further discussion is cut off. Fortunately there seems to be a growing number of people who recognize that the discussion is ongoing, and that God still has more to show us. So here's to the ever-continuing adventure.Eugenehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05431724892247691165noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post-81042430943165361862010-11-13T15:21:40.987-07:002010-11-13T15:21:40.987-07:00Eugene, as always, appreciate your commentary. We...Eugene, as always, appreciate your commentary. Well said, and great addition to Brian MacLaren's comments. You always express clearly what's on my mind as well, and wish I could get out there. So I thank God for your journey and talent with writing.<br /><br />Have trouble at times figuring out how to post without the anonymous option, but I am a real person who wants to encourage you to keep up the good work! <br /><br />This post was a God-send for me today, as I still struggle with my fundamentalist past, despite all I've learned over the years. It's always good to see evangelicals (and those with such backgrounds) becoming more faithful to the Bible's whole message as they appreciate that there are multiple voices within scripture that we need to wrestle with.<br /><br />Yes, Brad Jersak's book on hell is excellent, and on this posting, 3 books which have helped me are:<br /><br />William Countryman, Biblical Authority or Biblical Tyranny?<br /><br />Richard Elliott Friedman, Who Wrote the Bible?<br /><br />Marcus Borg, Reading the Bible Again for the First Time.<br /><br />I find a good principle in discerning scripture (and those writing about scripture) is 1 Thessalonians 5.20: "Do not despise prophesy, but test everything, and hold on to that which is good." Paul wrote to the collective body and it is thru' collective debate that we will come to discern better what scripture is telling us. <br /><br />As Paul said, "We see thru' a glass dimly." And here is where the Light of Jesus shines thru'. If something doesn't match the Love of God or Jesus' character, it likely is too much creating a god in our own image, or projecting bits of our tainted egos onto God's character. I find it helpful to substitute "God" e.g., for "Love" in the 1 Corinthians 13 passage to get a better grasp on God's character, if God truly is Love as John says.<br /><br />And so, stumbling over Paul's claims of a God of wrath and heart-hardening of some and mercy to others in Romans 9, I have to wonder how this matches Jesus' claim that God makes the sun to shine and rain to fall upon the just and the unjust, and his expectation that we love our enemies. Does God expect us to do something even God cannot do?<br /><br />Do I let Paul overshadow Jesus' message, or do I use Jesus' life and teachings to weed out what in Paul's prophesying needs testing to determine what is good and what's not in line with God's ways. It is the very thing you and MacLaren advocate: that we see the evolutionary understanding of God over time.<br /> <br />So thanks again for your willingness to contribute to the wrestling and dialogue.brianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14793819169882302237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17540148.post-53292996896628653062010-11-06T13:12:08.437-06:002010-11-06T13:12:08.437-06:00Our view of God is an indication of our spiritual ...Our view of God is an indication of our spiritual maturity.<br /><br />Well put.Doorman-Priesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06407399232593479871noreply@blogger.com