Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: jrossi@jato.jpl.nasa.gov (Joe "Bart" Rossi) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: MailJC Message-ID: Date: 2 Sep 90 03:38:21 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Jet Propelled Lab - Pasadena CA Lines: 38 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark T. Sandrock) writes: >>original. There are no quotation marks in Greek. We have to guess > >How can someone ask if the words of Jesus are "more inspired" than the >rest of the NT? There is not even any comparison, nor ever could be. >The same will also be true for the Son of Man "who is to come". Keeping in mind I don't necessarily believe that everything Jesus is quoted as saying in the Bible, as having come from his mouth, I must agree that in contrast to say the wordy Paul, the words of Jesus are strikingly simple, poignant and direct. I suppose, though, it is important to note that Jesus never wrote down anything, so maybe this is why. Paul, on the other hand, in keeping with his character, obviously enjoyed the act of writing his letters, and thusly wallowed in flowerly religious language that beat around the bush, much more so than it ever got down to the point. Which is fine, but IMHO, it explains why he has so much appeal to those that are attracted to elaborate, intricate religious systems, as opposed to simple truth. Jesus was never one to waste words it seems, so having his words highlighted in red [which my current Bible lacks :-(] has been in the past a great benefit for me. A good exercise for me has been to read these words while pretending that I am a lone individual whom only met Jesus when he was alive, and thus I recieved his teachings directly. Thus I put myself in the same position as many others who were alive in his time, who heard his words directly, and put them into practice. Hence my experience of Christ is not through Paul, through another apostle, or through a highly organized, institutionlized, system like a Church, but through his words. I find this approach refreshingly successful in coping with my everyday life, and in keeping alive the fire of faith. I must say I really believe Jesus wants it that way. -- "Love is hiding in the city, here in all of you." "Let us stay forever now!" -Pyschedelic Furs