"Mark T" <> wrote in message .

1. How can the Christ (the anointed of God) be the God anointed by God?

Lawrence: How can He not?

Mark:

God anoints himself to be the king / messiah????

Rowland:

The response of a rational mind. The alternative? Certainly not anti-rationalism, or irrationalism, or even non-rationalism. Try supra-rationalism.

M:

2. How can God send Himself from outside Himself to live and move and have His being inside Himself?

L: How can God be placed inside a box?

M:

Theism places God in a box. If, as the bible says, we live and move and have our being in God then Jesus (if he is God) is the God who lives and moves and has his being within God. It is illogical to suggest that God lives within a miniscule part of himself.

R:

Rationalism again. Try supra-rationalism. Heresy: thinking we can confine God in a *rational* (or, yes, any other)box...

M:

3. Is it "good news" that God gave God to be killed as a human sacrifice?

L: Yes. Moreover it is to save us from what? God's wrath.

M:

So God is an evil bastard

R:

No.

M:

who likes human sacrifice which appeases his anger against that which he made?

R:

No. I could be wrong, but I see sacrifice / shedding of blood as an Ancient Near Eastern dramatic object-lesson, reinforcing the need for a deadly price to be paid for a deadly behavior and attitude (sin). Is there a better way? Another more telling object-lesson for humans?

M:

4. How are Paul's letters "God's Word"?

L: Same way any scripture is.

M:

Are Paul's shopping lists "God's Word"?

R:

They can be God's Word, as they have been to faithful believers through the centuries. Again, the problem of (a particular brand of) rationality displacing other canons of authority - like tradition/history, revelation, experience etc. All-and not either-or...

M: 5. IF Genesis is history THEN where is archeological evidence for the following: - Garden of Eden - Tree of the knowledge of right and wrong - Tree of life - Talking snake - God walking in the Garden of Eden - An angel guarding the tree of life

L: All of these were destroyed by the flood.

M:

Has Stan ( the talking snake) drowned? Where does God walk on earth now? Do angels drown?

R:

Problems with literalism (Genesis 1-11 is saga)

M:

6. "I know you're a Christian, but who are you a Christian against?" Kenneth Burke

L: ?

M:

You are probably a Christian against any other christian who has a functioning brain and asks questions. ;-)

R:

Lawrence: this is a good question. Many conservative (but not only conservative) Christians - before and after the Puritans - are best known for what they oppose, rather than what they affirm...

M:

7. Are all 31 175 verses in the bible equally inspired and "God's word"?

L: According to some.

R:

No. Jesus suggested hierarchies of authority. 'You have heard... but I say... '

M:

Then slavery is ok. I wish to buy you as my personal slave. What is your buying price????

R:

The OT and NT are mostly benign/progressive in terms of the treatment of slaves (eg. Mosaic Law, Philemon)

M:

8. Why can't fundamentalists spell?

L: No spellchecker.

M:

Home skooled???

R:

Fundamentalists' spelling correlates with their formal education or lack of it, or their being dyslexic, or... Snooty well-educated liberals (especially ex-schoolies like Mark and me) sometimes - in our more judgmental moments - enjoy the oneupmanship of pointing out spelling or grammatical (or 'sprinters') errors... It's a not-so-subtle display of arrogance...

Hear endethe thatt lesun :-)

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Shalom! Rowland Croucher