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To: CynicalBear

Either Jesus is God our He isn’t. That is a binary. You choose one side or the other. There’s no compromise possible when you have a dichotomy.


17 posted on 09/07/2010 12:22:11 PM PDT by DManA
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To: DManA
Either Jesus is God our He isn’t. That is a binary. You choose one side or the other. There’s no compromise possible when you have a dichotomy.

I wish it were that simple. While I agree with you, and with what I believe is your meaning as well as your words, there are those who will say that Jesus is God, except . . .

You get to heaven by being a "good enough" person, not through the sacrifice of the living God . . .

Following Jesus is really all about being kind, and generous, and helping the poor (including the help that comes at the point of a gun through government taxation). If you pay your taxes, and vote for those who redistribute that wealth to the poor then you're following Jesus and will go to heaven . . .

. . . and that bit about turning over the money lenders tables in the Temple is not really relevant any more in contemporary society, because Jesus was not judgmental or anything "bad" like that . . .

And while Jesus was (notice how often they say "was", not "is") the Son of God, so was Mohammed, and Buddha (see "Oh, God" with George Burns and John Denver) . . .

And though Jesus was God, he was only a Spirit who wasn't at the same time fully human. It wasn't like he gave up a real, human life in the most gruesome death the Roman knew how to perform.

I have corresponded and talked with people who say that they believe Jesus was the Son of God, who at the same time pick and choose the parts of Scripture that they want to consider important. Rather than accepting Jesus as Lord and Christ, they just want someone to welcome them to heaven after they have 'earned' their way there by being nice, non-judgmental people.

I worship God, not the Bible, but if you have to express a dichotomy I think it has to be: You either accept that ALL Scripture is God-breathed and useful for instruction, or you're declaring yourself to be God by making up your own doctrine - even if that doctrine pays lip service to some selected "convenient" Christian teachings, including that Jesus was somehow 'special'.

19 posted on 09/07/2010 12:45:43 PM PDT by Phlyer
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