Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: fiddler@eng.sun.com (Steve Hix) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Millenium? Message-ID: Date: 7 Jan 91 04:05:58 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 54 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article , jclark%sdcc6@ucsd.edu (John Clark) writes: > In article math1h3@jetson.uh.edu writes: > >Sabbath is part of the old covenant. Paul told us in no uncertain terms > > Well is it? Is 'thou shall not commit adultery' part of the old > covanent? Well, that seems to very well supported in all accepted > Christian varients. > > [Those who accept only some of the Law generally make distinctions > between a permanent "moral" Law and specific signs and ceremonies > intended to be part of the covenant with the Jews. Generally they > would consider adultery to be part of the moral Law, and so still > accept that commandment. This is obviously a subjective distinction, > but surely you can see that worshipping on a particular day seems > rather more like having specific festivals such as Passover and > Booths, rather than as a basic moral principle? I can see how someone could take that line of reasoning. On the other hand, splitting up the ten commandments in such a (arbitrary? convenient?) fashion might be a case of needlessly increasing complexity. (Ol' Bill of Ockham would frown, perhaps...) For example, the dietary laws in Leviticus fit together as a package. The civil codes fit together as a package. The ceremonial laws fit together as another package...so why split up the ten commandments? Maybe their description solely as "moral" is more restrictive (by current English usage) than needful. Would they be better looked on as a description of our ideal (minimum) relationship with God and other people? The "relational" laws? We show proper repect and honor each other by either doing some things (honoring our parents, etc.) or not doing others (avoiding murder, adultery, lying, etc.) We also show proper respect and honor God by avoiding some things (using his name in vain, worshipping other entities), and by doing some other things (Sabbath observance as a means of acknowledging his Creatorship of all things, etc.) Not to try to stir up message traffic, btw, just to point out another approach to the topic. :} > Since it's hard to be > clear about the exact dividing line between "moral" and "ceremonial" > law, it seems appropriate to cite Paul's advice in Rom 14:4 that those > who regard one day as special and those who do not should respect each > other's choices. --clh] No problem there... -- ------------ The only drawback with morning is that it comes at such an inconvenient time of day. ------------