In Reply to: Re: Serious Defect in Jesus' Moral Character posted by MG on June 29, 2007 at 02:38:09:
If the dust settles - it doesn't only depend on me -
sure it can be about the substance, cause that's what it's basically all about....but you might know, that I am not an easy - theologically speaking -pushover, that gives up immediately somebody mentions some "outrageous" verses, as if I never heard about them...never read them...BB shows, that he can't respect Jesus for his "faulty morality", provided, He lived & did say those things...(but my response has to be along the line: if Jesus is God's Son, with the God-given authority, how do we have the nerve to judge God or His son...who are we/me /BB???)a good many theologian weasles himself out of the problems & declares difficult passages as not genuin, originally of Jesus...I read quite a lot along that line & I can fill pages about what is interpreted different, to suit the own logic, morality, humanistic teachings.It happened as far back as in TF, where some befriended teacher of history & latin send me some "scientific" explanation about the book of Daniel, because I did send him the family material...I won't get into it now, just to say, I know since long about some trains of thoughts of theologians,
unbelievers with the mantle of authority...I am not an expert, but a pretty interested lay-person...so it gets my ire, when people think, something is "proven"....it's their take, fine, but underneath is this ridicule, chuckle..."oh, you believer, how come that since you escaped the darkness of TF & since the age of enlightenment, you haven't wisened up more & are still stuck in the old "rut"...I can present my faith, explain it & am mighty thankful for it....however, for people who had as much knowledge as I and probably more & who got fascinated by some other philosophy....I might not be able to be too much of a help...even the scripture says so...I could say:I pray for you Billy B., etc. be meeker as I was,...but I have/had the feeling, the mind is made up...it was no question like: and then, since you believe, how do you harmonise your faith with verses like.....it was judgemental on his side, as if there was no valid response to it.Sure I have to also "arrange myself" with the more difficult verses, one of my foremost projects is to understand the letter Romans better, the difficult chapters...besides that Hebrews 6 & 10...not so easy either...but to please BB, I'd enter into a debate about hell & the pharisees etc....judgement & the rest....isn't my major study-subject right now, but to show some willingness on my side.
As far as you are concerned MG, I do respect you, you are a "sweet" man...pardon that poor vocabulary of mine, I'd already said, I have little time to refine nowadays my posts....what I mean is...you do make efforts to be a peacemaker....& yes, I do have difficulties to swallow what you said...I mean you read the proof, so what did it prove to you or not?The way you describe your journey you could also fit in with
monarchianism/modalism/Sabellianism....who don't have the trinity in their beliefsystem...basically more "pleasing" to the old jewish train of thought....and pardon me, may be I don't know the latest, I did have the impression, that some time ago you described yourself as an agnostic...in favour of Buddhism, do I remember wrong?I am puzzled...