Subject:
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Re: codifying marriage on biblical principles
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.off-topic.debate
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Date:
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Wed, 10 Mar 2004 07:18:36 GMT
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Viewed:
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259 times
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Dave Schuler wrote:
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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, John Neal wrote:
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In all seriousness, how do you define “Christianity?”
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The religion of the believers and followers of Jesus the Christ (Messiah).
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But the trick, for outsiders like me, is that there doesn’t seem to be a
compelling reason to accept one group’s system of beliefs in preference to
any other group’s. Throughout history there have been innumerable groups
whose methods of following Jesus are wildly at odds with other groups’
methods, but no group has ever said “We follow our version of Jesus because
our version is wrong.”
I guess this is the crux (no pun intended): Who gets to say which group
truly follows Christ? I mean, aside from Jesus himself, of course!
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The proof is in the pudding. Or, as Jesus put it: “If you grow a healthy tree,
you’ll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you’ll pick worm-eaten
fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree.” Matthew 12:33
I say: don’t tell me you are a follower of Jesus Christ, show me.
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I would suggest that
the answer cannot be “the teachings of Christ according to scripture,”
because that answer, for all practical purposes, reduces to “the opinions
of particular Christians,” since Christ’s teachings, as written, are
subject to widely differing interpretations.
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Jesus’ teachings were obviously important, but don’t forget His work as
Savior, dying for the sins of all people and thereby justifying the world to
God.
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Maybe I’d feel better about it all if we had a better (i.e., more reliable)
accounting of his life and works. The Gospels, alas, present insufficient
evidence for me.
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God bless you, Dave! You are such a “scientist” (I say that as a compliment:-)
I would suggest reading the Gospels in a modern translation (try
The Message) A paraphrase, actually,
but the omission of verse numbers and the easy-flowing language really makes the
Truths come alive to the reader, especially for someone who is rather unfamiliar
with the Bible, or who’s only read it in practically unintelligible King James
English;-)
JOHN
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: codifying marriage on biblical principles
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| (...) But see, there's the problem. On what basis can one assess someone's actions to be following or not following Jesus? Unfortunately, the Gospels don't qualify as adequately impartial accounts of his life, death, life, or teachings, so we'd need (...) (20 years ago, 12-Mar-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: codifying marriage on biblical principles
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| (...) But the trick, for outsiders like me, is that there doesn't seem to be a compelling reason to accept one group's system of beliefs in preference to any other group's. Throughout history there have been innumerable groups whose methods of (...) (20 years ago, 9-Mar-04, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
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