tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224671339660011652.post5334118304586719264..comments2023-10-18T01:26:10.564-07:00Comments on GAFCON: As if I wasn't already busy enough...The Rev. Dr. Christian Trollhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12036555999630488760noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224671339660011652.post-18617205455024481412013-04-09T21:42:02.720-07:002013-04-09T21:42:02.720-07:00Ok Tom – you’ve represented your qustions in mann...Ok Tom – you’ve represented your qustions in manner approaching that of civility, so I’ll respond by dropping character and tring to answer you.<br /><br />Although to be honest I can’t understand why you find what I believe of such importance. Should we indeed one day find ourselves each standing before the Lord Almighty, and each called to give an account for ourself, I very much doubt your interrogation will include an extra session on the person behind this blog’s doctrine of Scripture. Perhaps it might be a better use of your time to put that energy into thinking about the historicity and implications of your own position (whatever that might be) rather than worrying about mine?<br /><br />The real problem I face in answering you is, however, that I’m never sure what people mean when they ask me (as happens surprisingly often) about my beliefs regarding the infallibility of Scripture. And no, I’m not saying that to be smart, or to in some way evade your question. It’s just that in my experience just about everyone has a different understanding of what they mean by the concept; so any I answer I give gets interpreted through a filter of which I have no knowledge, with the result that I’m invariably held as saying I agree or disagree with some kind of “orthodoxy” in a way that I never intinded.<br /><br />Besides, I’m always uncomfortable ascribing what I mean by infallibilty to anyone or thing other than God, and despite what seems to be you firm convictions regarding my alleged heterodoxy, I’m actually still a long way way from reframing the the Trinity in terms of “Father, Son, and Holy Book”. Consequently my answer to you regarding Scripture is the same one I give everyone, and the only one I’ve ever held: namely that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (lit. “<i>theopneustos</i>” so if you prefer a translation of this as “God-breathed” I won’t argue), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. Providing it’s understood in the context in which it was written – so please don’t think you’ll everhear me advocating Psalm 137 as justification for slaughtering the children of anyone disagress with me. (Although I’ll admit that’s a gag which I think I’ve had Father Christian use in the past, and if not he’s bound to try it on sometime ;-) <br /><br />I’d never heard of the “something awful” site until your mention of it. As regulars can tell by the hap-hazard way this blog has been updated of late (not to mention my appalling tardiness in replying to everyone’s emails) my life and workload is currently hovering somewhere between “through the roof” and “completely & utterly out-of-control”, so alas there’s no way I’d have time to hang around there writing – even if I wanted to. Which I don’t ;-)<br />Take Care Tom, and thanks for trying to be a little less aggressive in your questions.The Rev. Dr. Christian Trollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12036555999630488760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224671339660011652.post-24871997291504406062013-04-07T23:24:58.917-07:002013-04-07T23:24:58.917-07:00It's a good thing I take myself seriously, bec...It's a good thing I take myself seriously, because sometimes it is what prevents me from emotional outraged. So even if you think my serious demeanor is laughable (and slightly autistic), think of it is as merely a method of self-control.<br /><br />I cannot say anything about your spiritual growth, but I think that liberal theology does a great disservice to Christianity. Jesus confirmed the existence of demons many times in His ministry, and I can say that not basing one's worldview on the Bible (not necessarily through the interpretation of one's pastor, but through an intellectually honest reading) opens one's heart to such manipulation.<br /><br />That being said, even though I am a fundamentalist (I am not afraid to let my Jesus freak flag fly), I try to view things from a liberal perspective myself.<br /><br />First of all, I think that we can both agree that the Bible contains some objective truths, which the language clearly states, and that there are some things both of us would reject. Correct me if I'm wrong, but both of us would consider a person who claimed to be a Christian, but believed that God does not exist, or that Jesus of Nazareth was 100% fiction with no historical existence whatsoever, to be in grave contradiction. We know this, for the Bible clearly tells us so.<br /><br />Granted, my first series of questions were rather offensive, but seeing that you are not interested in aggression, I hope that you may answer these questions, so that I may understand you better. I would appreciate it if you could break persona for a while...<br /><br />(1) To what degree do you consider the Bible infallible? Do you consider the Old Testament + New Testament to be the Word of God? Just the New Testament? The New Testament sans Paul? Only the four gospels? How about only Mark and what scholars deem to originate from Q?<br /><br />(2) Are you a Something Awful forum user? Your style of writing and rhetoric seemed eerily similar to that group.Tom O.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224671339660011652.post-80736546891600914842013-04-07T20:54:19.482-07:002013-04-07T20:54:19.482-07:00It's truly wonderful you take yourself so seri...It's truly wonderful you take yourself so seriously, little Tom my boy. Because it couldn't be more obvious nobody else does.The Rev. Dr. Christian Trollhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12036555999630488760noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3224671339660011652.post-4540157590656270672013-04-07T19:04:25.930-07:002013-04-07T19:04:25.930-07:00(1) What was God's response to Korah for wanti...(1) What was God's response to Korah for wanting to offer an "alternative framework for an authentic relationship with to God," as you put it in your September 11, 2012 blog post?<br /><br />(2) What was his justification for his alternative framework for an authentic relationship with God? (Hint: it's in Numbers 16:3)<br /><br />(3) How many gays has fundamentalist Christianity (of all stripes) killed versus how many gays has socialism killed? How many lives of gays has fundamentalist Christianity made miserable versus how many lives of gays has socialism made miserable?<br /><br />(4) Which one is a bigger threat to the right of gay people: denial of marriage, or loss of democracy due to unsustainable debt, which in turn is due to entitlements (this hypothetical situation, might I remind you, is what is happening in Greece)?<br /><br />(5) How do you avoid the cognitive dissonance which must result from simultaneously dissing conservatives for fearing socialism while annually creating a FUD post about fundamentalism on September 11th?<br /><br />(6) You do realize that the word "fundamentalism" actually has a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fundamentals" rel="nofollow">specific meaning</a>, which only makes sense in the context of the Western evolution of Christianity, and thus terms such as "Islamic fundamentalism" are ill-defined at best?<br /><br />(7) Let's suppose a son announces to his father that he is gay, and the father, in response, kills himself. Should we hold the son and his action of coming out accountable for his father's death?<br /><br />(8) What is your postcount at Something Awful?<br /><br />Sorry, but your Frankfurt School style of theology (and logic for that matter) isn't going to cut it. <br /><br />You see, it doesn't matter even if you don't publish my posts, because the seed of cognitive dissonance I have planted will simply grow larger and larger, until you simply are forced to submit to what is observable and true (the holy scripture) or create an alternative, consistent system of philosophy where only you control the rules (atheism)<br /><br />^_^Tom O.noreply@blogger.com