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username: Communication

Keith Martin said:
Attempt two at replying to this: actually, my first reaction was to laugh along with what I assume was your own lighthearted response.
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Hey, that's why I chose the avatar I did. But it was really meant to be more than amusing or entertaining.
The Word of God is a broad category, and I think it is a necessary and reasonable assumption to consider the scripture traditionally thought of as being written by Moses as falling into that category. So one distinction is set vs. subset.
For an example for your 2nd question: I thought Jesus said Moses allowed marriage to have in some cases the lawful variation of some marriages ending in divorce and some not. And I think Jesus ascribed that variation to (and I admit this is really weird that divine law creation would seem to have an element of human participation) Moses accounting for some people's hard hearts.
 
Communication said:
But if God prohibits something for our holiness, maybe we can be even more holy when we prohibit even more? I wonder if the answer to that question is Always Yes, Always No, or Sometimes Yes/Sometimes No.
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If one pill is good, surely a whole bottle is even better? Or should we just do exactly what the doctor prescribed?

My wife did a tour of Africa many years ago, and was enthusiastic to tell people about God. She felt told to take a very specific number of New Testaments with her - but wanted to take more. I told her to take exactly the number she felt she had been told to take. It turned out that there was a very good reason for that number - she went through several African countries as a bubbly Christian giving out bibles, but ran out before reaching Egypt - she'd even given away her own Bible by that point. There she felt strongly that she must not mention God at all for her safety (and had several creepy incidents that confirmed this). Turned out that God had it planned perfectly and had a good reason for it all.

If God says something, we should obey Him. Not think we know better and can think up something even better than that.
 
Communication said:
But if God prohibits something for our holiness, maybe we can be even more holy when we prohibit even more? I wonder if the answer to that question is Always Yes, Always No, or Sometimes Yes/Sometimes No.
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Actually, adding to the Law would be sin. So, 'prohibit(ing) even more' will most likely be sin or self-righteousness, also warned against..
 
Keith Martin said:
Ground Rule 1: assume that Scripture, at least in its original manuscripts, is the inerrant Word of God.
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I've always considered that Scripture is the inspired Word of God as told by the Supreme Being of the Universe to a bunch of nomadic tribesmen who then had to translate the unlimited and Eternal Wisdom of God and put it into words and phrases and metaphors that their mostly illiterate and ignorant fellow tribesmen could understand. Meaning that I don't necessarily take everything literally save for the Ten Commandments and the words of Jesus.

The Ten Commandments are the literal Word of God and they were written by God Himself. I know this beyond a doubt because when Moses presented them to the Israelites there were hundreds of skilled stone carvers present who would have recognized the work of a human hand if they saw it. Therefore the Tablets must have been made with a method that was beyond the skills of the most skilled stone carvers in the world.

The fact of Jesus' words is found in the corresponding testimony of the Apostles who heard these words firsthand. What I find most fascinating is that each Apostle heard something slightly different and that's the proof of the validity of Jesus. Had these words been fake then each Apostle would have reported seeing and hearing the exact same thing because liars always tell the same lie. Instead they ring genuine because each had a different perception of things that actually happened. Just like people today who see an event and relate what they think they saw and heard.

So while God may have wanted the Canaanites killed on sight thousands of years ago the odds are that many of their descendants are now Christians and God is just fine with them because they too can be saved by Jesus.
 
Communication said:
I thought it would be useful to look at topics which seemed ambiguous to me, and one topic that seems to be ambiguous is polygamy (M=1, F>=1).
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Polygamy is a sociology term.

What can help to make the Bible less ambiguous is to call Bible things by Bible names, and to speak where the Bible speaks and to be silent where the Bible is silent.

If you call being married to more than one wife what the Bible calls it, "marriage", then the issue becomes clearer.

Since no one can point to any Bible verse that says "polygamy is a sin" then it seems clear that that is not something a Bible believing Christian should say.

It is really not ambiguous at all once you get over your Western Civilization confirmation bias. The Bible is pretty clear on the subject. It just does not give the answer that the large majority in our culture wants to hear.[/QUOTE]
 
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Communication said:
But if God prohibits something for our holiness, maybe we can be even more holy when we prohibit even more? I wonder if the answer to that question is Always Yes, Always No, or Sometimes Yes/Sometimes No.
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This would be an always no. We are not to deviate to the right or to the left. It is just as wrong to add to the scriptures as it is to take away. The best thing is to know what God wants and to follow it as near as you are able to.

To add additional burdens that God does not require creates a greater burden than needed and opens a door for sin. Catholic priests forbidden to marry comes to mind as an example. I am sure there are many more.
 
cnystrom said:
To add additional burdens that God does not require creates a greater burden than needed and opens a door for sin. Catholic priests forbidden to marry comes to mind as an example. I am sure there are many more.
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Matthew 16:6 (KJV) Then Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
 
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