Ignoring the Word of God?
I'm sometimes accused, by, I assume, conservative evangelicals, of ignoring verses of Scripture that I don't like.
Well, it's a pretty big club, including just about everybody who calls him or herself a Christian.
We all pick and choose which passages apply to us. I bet some who fire off angry salvos about my support for gay rights are eating a ham sandwich while doing so. I guess the prohibition against eating pork has fallen by the wayside.
How many of you have put to death a disobedient son, as the Bible demands?
Ever work on Sunday?
Been divorced?
Interpreting Scripture is not for the faint-hearted. Jesus says if you call somebody a fool, you're headed for hell. Which must come as surprise to Paul, who referred to all those "foolish Galatians'' in his epistle to that church. Paul also says that women should not speak in church and later says that when they do, they should wear hats.
One Gospel condemns all divorce, another puts an adultery loophole in there.
This may come as a shock to some, but not every passage of Scripture is as important as every other part. I can't remember the last time I built an ark of the covenant (or the other kind of ark, for that matter.)
We all make peace somehow with difficult passages of Scriptures, and we live with the consequences. In humility. There's nothing more arrogant than Christians who swagger around with all the answers.
I believe that the Bible teaches, and Jesus embodies, the idea that people are more important than rules.
If I err, then, let it be on the side of mercy.
Well, it's a pretty big club, including just about everybody who calls him or herself a Christian.
We all pick and choose which passages apply to us. I bet some who fire off angry salvos about my support for gay rights are eating a ham sandwich while doing so. I guess the prohibition against eating pork has fallen by the wayside.
How many of you have put to death a disobedient son, as the Bible demands?
Ever work on Sunday?
Been divorced?
Interpreting Scripture is not for the faint-hearted. Jesus says if you call somebody a fool, you're headed for hell. Which must come as surprise to Paul, who referred to all those "foolish Galatians'' in his epistle to that church. Paul also says that women should not speak in church and later says that when they do, they should wear hats.
One Gospel condemns all divorce, another puts an adultery loophole in there.
This may come as a shock to some, but not every passage of Scripture is as important as every other part. I can't remember the last time I built an ark of the covenant (or the other kind of ark, for that matter.)
We all make peace somehow with difficult passages of Scriptures, and we live with the consequences. In humility. There's nothing more arrogant than Christians who swagger around with all the answers.
I believe that the Bible teaches, and Jesus embodies, the idea that people are more important than rules.
If I err, then, let it be on the side of mercy.
posted by Michael Riley at 9:54 AM
7 Comments:
"I'm sometimes accused, by, I assume, conservative evangelicals, of ignoring verses of Scripture that I don't like." -- Michael Riley
Don't forget the Catholics. We aren't particularly impressed with you either.
"We all pick and choose which passages apply to us." -- Michael Riley
No, "we" don't. Some of "us" believe that one should be extremely cautious in individually interpreting Sacred Scripture. Moreover, many of "us" believe it should not be done without Divine assistance. Indeed, Scripture itself says as much:
"Then He [Christ] opened their minds, that they might understand the Scriptures." -- Luke 25:45
"'Do you understand what you are reading?' But he said, 'Why, how can I, unless someone shows me?'" -- Acts 8:27-40 (Philip speaking with the eunuch who was trying to read Issiah)
"...In these Epistles there are certain things difficult to understand, WHICH THE UNLEARNED AND UNSTABLE DISTORT, JUST AS THEY DO THE REST OF THE SCRIPTURES ALSO, TO THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION. YOU THEREFORE, BRETHREN, SINCE YOU KNOW THIS BEFOREHAND, BE ON YOUR GUARD LEST, CARRIED AWAY BY THE ERROR OF THE FOOLISH, YOU FALL AWAY FROM YOUR STEADFASTNESS." -- 2 Peter 3:16-17
"This then you must understand first of all, that NO PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE IS MADE BY PRIVATE INTERPRETATION." -- 2 Peter 1:20
"I bet some who fire off angry salvos about my support for gay rights are eating a ham sandwich while doing so. I guess the prohibition against eating pork has fallen by the wayside." -- Michael Riley
Um, yeah. See Acts 10:9-16, which describes St. Peter's vision regarding "profane" and "unclean" food. This may come as a shock to you, but Christ fulfilled the old covenant he made with the Jews. In the same way that one doesn't continue to make car payments after the loan is paid off, Christians are not obligated to follow Kosher dietary laws. You aren't obligated to circumcise your sons on the eighth day after their birth either. Scripture says as much. It's a shame you didn't get the memo.
"Interpreting Scripture is not for the faint-hearted." -- Michael Riley
It shouldn't be done by individuals either, as has been pointed out above. If not by individuals, by whom then? Glad you asked. It should be done by the one Church (not churches, Mr. Luther) that Christ himself founded. And which church would that be? I'll give you a hint: Start looking towards Rome.
"Jesus said to him in reply, 'Blessed are you Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.'" -- Matthew 16:17-19
I don't think it gets any clearer than that, Mr. Riley. Christ founded one church, The Catholic Church, and he gave it a teaching authority that he did not give to you or any other church. Moreover, and because that Church can bind and loosen, Christ ensured that his Church, The Catholic Church, cannot teach falsely on matters of faith and morals. Unlike yourself, the Church cannot err.
"These things have I spoken to you, abiding with you. But the Paraclete, The Holy Spirit, who the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you ... When the Paraclete cometh, whom I will send you from the Father, The Spirit of Truth, who proceeds from the Father, he shall give testimony of me. And you shall give testimony, because you are with me from the beginning." -- John 14:25-26; 15:26-27
"He that hearth you, hearth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me." -- Luke 10:16
"These things that I write to thee ... that thou mayest know how thou ought to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth." -- (1 Timothy 3:14-15)
"I am with you always." -- Matthew 28:20
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you." -- John 16:12-15
"If I err, then, let it be on the side of mercy." -- Michael Riley
You do err, and there is nothing merciful about suggesting that Jesus would condone a gay wedding, or that he would welcome "research" that destroys human life and which relegates the unborn to little more than, and as you once put it, "frozen petrie dish dwellers."
Why am I Catholic?
hey, papist and anonymous (are you one and the same person or 2 different bloggers?)..lighten up fellas...life's too short.. (or is it?)I plan on taking the UP elevator to the hereafter, what about you? what's that you say? going DOWN?
"Mark you this, Bassanio,
The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.
An evil soul producing holy witness
Is like a villain with a smiling cheek,
A goodly apple rotten at the heart.
O, what a goodly outside falsehood hath!"
The Merchant of Venice
I.iii.(97-102)
"Thus, the word of God is whatever you want it to be..." -- Ray
And I imagine Satan himself couldn't have put it any better. Indeed, I think he did just that in the Garden of Eden when he told Eve that if she and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, they would be like "gods onto themselves." (Genesis 3:5)
I agree with you Ray... papist and anonymous (I believe you are one and same blogger using 2 diff names)certainly are behaving very uncatholic and unchristian in your attacks on others' religions and beliefs..there's room for everyone's beliefs in this big wide world papist whether you agree or not.Every religion has a "sacred" doctrine or holy book interpreted by its group of followers/believers and they live their lives accordingly ( that's not to say one is better than another)..unfortunately most of these beliefs also are the root/perpetuation of evil wars over the centuries all in the name of what? I suggest to you, papist, that you take your head out of your bible and/or ass, take a deep cleansing breath, embrace your fellow man (woman) without judgment and be a true catholic (with a small "c")..you sure have a lot of fanatical, pent-up animosity exhibited in your blogs..can only imagine what fun you must be to be around on daily basis...yikes, man..lighten up already..can't we all just get along? I don't think the pope had you in mind for his church's poster boy either...if you are so hating, distrusting of so many others' beliefs how about applying to the vatican as the pope's lackey and moving there permanently...By the way,I know many Catholics who've stop giving to the collection plate because their money goes mostly to the PPDF -pedophile priests' defense fund ..is that okay in your scriptures, too? ciao
I suspect that "papist" is an evangelical christian posing as a Roman Catholic trying to bate the tendency of Baptist like Riley to go off on a "Wh*re of Babylon" tirade.
Papist says that "Christ founded one church, The Catholic Church, and he gave it a teaching authority that he did not give to you or any other church. Moreover, and because that Church can bind and loosen, Christ ensured that his Church, The Catholic Church, cannot teach falsely on matters of faith and morals. Unlike yourself, the Church cannot err."
But then Mohammed came along and showed that the Catholic church can err. And if you don't believe that, some Muslim will kill you.
As the Catholics did during the Crusades.
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