One netfriend asked about the relevance of the NT for faith. Another responded: But even there, that requires the gospels, and Jesus did not seem to make any provision for them. Take them away and there is no history for Jesus, be it true or false. If Jesus had this message, does it really seem likely that he would hope that a couple of his entourage, might in the twilight of their longer than average lives, decide to write down what he did and said? Was Jesus relying on an afterthought for his 2000+ year message? To which I replied: The orthodox/evangelical tradition affirms that Jesus *did* make provision for his followers to teach all that he had commanded (Matthew 28:18-20). Post-Gutenberg we think of a written form primarily for this teaching; pre-Gutenberg it was mostly oral. Further, the chapters John 14-16 (the Upper Room discourse) has three functions given to the Holy Spirit by Jesus and God the Father (that's the best biblical source of 'trinitarian' doctrine, BTW): he will bring to your remembrance my teachings, guide you into all truth, and show you things to come - which covers, respectively, the bulk of the Gospels, epistles, and Apocalypse (Revelation). The provision for ongoing instruction/teaching's all there - based, of course, on the presupposition that someone going around acting like God (forgiving people's sins etc.) is who he claims to be. That's where reading Strobbel might be helpful, though you don't have to swallow everything he writes (after all, he's a bit of an amateur theologian at best). Shalom! Rowland Croucher http://jmm.aaa.net.au/ (now 13,000 articles)
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