***Why don’t they see that when they mock those who believe that Paul’s writings are true, they are also mocking Paul, as well as God? Oh well. I guess for some, parts of God’s truth are truthier than others. :)***
All of God’s truth is true. Misinterpreting Paul does not lead one towards God’s truth. It leads one towards the Gnostics, as evidenced by several folks on boards here. The great deceiver nets a great number of souls by deceit and by causing misunderstanding.
He is harvesting a great bounty.
And the winner of the 2008 Religious Tautology Prize is ....
But it's important. When I'm reading along and something yanks my chain - for example my oft-quoted line from James, there seem to me to be three general ways to respond. One is to reject the writing openly. I think it may be unfair to say that Luther really rejected the inspiration of James, but I can certainly understand his wanting to. One of my history profs, after James was read in chapel, muttered theatrically "Epistle of straw!"
Another way to react is to explain it away. "James just means ...," and to preserve the theological "system" while seeming to gut the verse or passage. Jeremiah says of God that He does "... not willingly afflict the children of men." I remember an Episcopal bishop (is that redundant?) explaining that away with a learned discourse (mercifully brief) about "contingent will."
But contingent schmontingent! God is described in inspired Scripture (and I'll arm-wrestle anyone to the death who says Jeremiah is not inspired!) as doing something unwillingly! This is not something to explain, it's something to fall back before, to fall to one's knees before. It's something to wonder at. Then, yeah, sooner or later some scholastic explanation ought to be put up for the gentile scoffers. But I think that line, as much as any in the OT, presages the cross and Christ crucified, and the mystery of God emptying Himself.
So the bishop can have his explanation, and much good may it do him. But may God do Him better and greater good and stop his mouth with the wonder of Himself and His self-disclosure, self-gift, in manger, cross, tomb, altar, and freely and lovingly given Breath.
And while we lament the lies sown by their father, we may trust that all of us may be drawn from our error into Truth and Life, and may tread upon Him who grants himself to be our Way.
Well certainly we can all agree on this! :) We just have to decide whether it is more reasonable to believe that Paul wrote plainly in most cases, or was he the most cryptic writer in the history of literature. :) Of course we might disagree on what "plainly" means.
It leads one towards the Gnostics, as evidenced by several folks on boards here.
I suppose it could lead to Gnosticism, but in general it just leads to error. I haven't seen any Gnosticism on this thread as I understand the term. Reformers do not claim anything that is "secret". It's all right there in the Bible. :)
The great deceiver nets a great number of souls by deceit and by causing misunderstanding. He is harvesting a great bounty.
Yes, satan certainly is harvesting a great number of souls. Praise and glory be to God that He has given His children a Comforter to protect them against any attack that would result in destruction. That was His promise and I rely on it with my life.