REQUIRED READING: THE BOOK OF JOB
It encompasses this wide-ranging discussion nicely.

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day.
As far as liking Churchill, I would not enter into a gay marriage with him, or a civil union for that matter, not that he would consent to either were he still alive.
I essentially agree that religious rhetoric is not valid in public debate. When I write "religious" I mean moral issues; ethical ones do have a place in the public debate. My caveat is that I believe that God's laws are not irrational dictums emanating from some altar but are in fact natural laws of a sort. When God commands men to not fornicate he proscribes a law that is in accordance with nature and is useful for combating societal problems like STDs and broken homes. So though a religious person may be oppossed to gambling on moral grounds he argues against in secular terms of the common good. In other words: public immorality hurts the public and therefore can always be rationally and successfully opposed in secular terms. I believe an examination of Judeo-Christian morality reveals that this correspondence bears out on every moral problem that also affects society (a similar dynamic is true with personal moral problems).

I find the problem of Scriptural interpretation, well, problematic. I do believe the Bible is inspired. Some of it, I think is rather clearly allegorical, or else miraculously literal (which is quite possible). The Book of Job is the book I find most likely to not be literal, and should be the required reading for this wide-ranging discussion. It is pretty short. I guess if the Bible is strictly historical it is absolutely true. One idea I find fascinating is the philosophical notion of "myth." In this sense a myth is a non-historical account that nonetheless contains truths that are applicable to history. It is just as powerful in the truths we deduce from it as it would be were it a historicl event.
Really, I haven't decided how I interpret the Bible. My view is necessarily different than a Jewish one since for Christians Christ is the Word: "In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God." Even as the word of God the Bible must be seen as secondary to an ultimate, perfect Word, Christ. The Bible is not the primary vehicle for bringing God home to us but the person of Christ is. Notice however, how my argument rests on a biblical quotation: herein lies the dillemma. Scripture, though "God-breathed," is open to human corruption in revision and translation, yet in God's providence I think the Bible today is essentially intact in its original, god-breathed form.
All this is way beyond me. Take it as food for thought. At any rate, I'm convicted the scripture should be my rule of life. It is the historical footprint of the eternal Christ.

posted by Matthew Schmitz   [7:09 PM]

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