Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!emory!gatech!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: scott@clmqt.marquette.mi.us (Scott Reynolds) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: "Grail Message" (was Re: Creation) Message-ID: Date: 29 Nov 90 03:08:26 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 90 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I wrote that it's impossible for a human being to be truly objective, and also: >>I'm not saying objectivity is a bad idea, but in order to >>be truly unbiased we would have to be God Himself. sandrock@aries.scs.uiuc.edu (Mark T. Sandrock) writes: >...I also think it would be wrong not to be always striving in that >direction. We can learn to recognize and overcome our biases and pre- >judices, step-by-step. Since it's impossible to be objective, does it not make sense then that we should have the right biases? Shouldn't we be biased _for_ God's Word, since that is our only tangible link to Him? >On the other hand, it may be just as difficult for someone who has >chosen to adhere to a particular "Christian" teaching to examine the >new knowledge of the Grail Message objectively. Difficult, indeed, especially in the light of Galatians 1:6-9, in which Paul says: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel -- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! All "new" teachings should be tested against Scripture, not the other way around. >>To reject the validity of the original recording of the manuscripts is >>to cast a shadow on Christianity as a whole. Attempting to find the >>right translation is a good thing, but saying the original text is >>in error is to open the door to the rewriting of God's Word. >And I say that GOD's WORD was that spoken by Jesus, Himself! Isn't God's Word also at least the words of the prophets? Jesus Himself directly confirmed Daniel in Matthew 24:15; many places in the Gospels confirm the David and prophets (e.g. Matthew 10:35-36, Mark 9:48, Mark 13:24-25, Luke 20:42, Luke 23:30, John 12:15, John 19:37). To say the Bible has no mistakes whatsoever would be a ludicrous position, but for anything of significance to be recorded improperly doesn't give God much credit for getting His Word written down. >>Can you explain why a Perfect Creator would allow his very Word to be >>recorded with significant error? I cannot seen reconcile these two >>ideas. Remember 2 Timothy 3:16, [...] >Yes. [...] FREE WILL! Yet, what hope do we have if we don't have the Word of God in its entirety already? Why is there a need for "new knowledge" when nearly 2000 years of mankind has already gone without it? Would it have taken this long for Him to correct such a mistake? The perfect God has already gotten it right the first time and has no need to correct Himself. >Even if one rejects any basis in Scripture for the validity of the concept >of reincarnation, the fact still remains that Jesus could not say everything >to the people at that time, and we do have His words to that effect. On the contrary; Scripture does tell us something. Ecclesiastes 9:5 says "the dead know nothing; they have no further reward" and Hebrews 9:27 says "a man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgement." I have no need for the concept of reincarnation to find justice; the Lord shall pronounce judgement in any way He deems good and right, which means I don't have to worry about it. He will be my Avenger if He feels I need one. >Are you saying that God does not want us to think "freely and independently"? I was saying, and I will say again, that we have the ability to _choose_ freely and independently -- we either choose God or we don't. If we choose Him we have an obligation to find out what His divine Will is, and I can see no better way than to accept His Word as Truth, to study it and to take its message to our hearts. Yours in Christ, -- Scott Reynolds = scott@clmqt.marquette.Mi.US Enterprise Information System = ..rutgers!mailrus!sharkey!clmqt!scott "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand." -- YHWH (Job 38:4)