Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!psuvax1!psuvm!RUG!DEVOSCM From: DEVOSCM@RUG.NL (Marco de Vos, Kapteyn Lab Groningen) Newsgroups: bit.listserv.christia Subject: RE: Re: How "Christian" are we? Message-ID: Date: 11 Jan 90 09:58:00 GMT Sender: Practical Christian Life Reply-To: Practical Christian Life Lines: 20 Approved: NETNEWS@PSUVM Gateway X-VMS-To: IN%"CHRISTIA@FINHUTC.BITNET" > Actually, it can be shown through simple boolean algebra that the two >statements (if not with, against; if not against, with) reduce to each other; >in other words, they're exactly equivalent. > >Dan Wiebe Boolean algebra is valid for binary problems only. In the case of "whith"/ "against", WE do have the third option of "indifferent", or "with, but in another way". Those situations are exactly the ones people like to solve with the Jesus' statements, they're also the kind of context in which the statements are made. I'm afraid (well, may be glad is a more appropriate word) that the differences just show we will never be able to make the final judgement. Of course one could point out that finally, there is only "with"/"against", (or "good"/"bad", or whatever), so God could most probabely treat it as a binary problem. That's why I capitalised WE. Because we still cannot. Marco.