Abraham was one of the OT righteous. Just another example that God can reveal Himself to pagans as well.
That's well and fine, but I don't see how it addresses my point. Do you believe that Abraham ever lived and that the stories written about him really happened? I would doubt it, so even if you say he ever lived, why would you call him righteous? IOW, why would you accept that one claim and reject all that supports it?
FK: Jesus said here that it was lawful to do good on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:12)
Any work? For any reason?
Yes, any Godly work for any Godly reason. The verse says:
Matt 12:12 : How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
Seems plain enough.
No He said it was good to do work to save man's life on a Sabbath.
Where does that come from??? The context was a man with a shriveled hand and its healing. The KJV translation also has nothing like you suggest.
FK: "God is multifaceted AND consistent. This is what the whole of scripture reveals. It is God's revelation."
Yet the Church teaches that God is simple and indivisible. Just another example that we don't share the same Christian faith.
Yes, I would agree that our respective faiths are much farther apart than I originally imagined possible when I first started posting here on FR. And, it would make perfect sense if the Church taught that God is simple as a Being, if the Church only accepts perhaps the Book of John and selected red letter selections from the other Gospels as the only true revelation. I don't think the Church actually does that but I HAVE seen Latin support for the idea that all scripture must be interpreted through the Gospels, MEANING that any perceived inconsistencies must result in the offending passages being for all intents and purposes declared LIES. In Apostolic theology I see no concept of the totality of scripture at all. I see only the concept of hierarchy of scripture determined by a hierarchy of men.
I have no idea if Abraham really existed or not. It's quite immaterial if he lived or not. He is the achtype of a man who would be "rigtheous." Like Job, or Jonah, he serves a purpose in the devlopment of Judaism and through Judaism of Christianity and Islam. He give it legitimacy of sorts.
I call him "righteous" because that's how his character is presented in the Bible. No different than Job.
Yes, any Godly work for any Godly reason. The verse says: Matt 12:12 : How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
So, does that means we can do a "little" on the Sabbath for creatures of "little value?" I think you are missing the point, FK: Jesus here is telling the Jews they got the whole thing wrong. He is redefining what Moses wrote. He is telling them that 1300 years of Judaism had it all wrong and that it's okay to do work on a Sabbath, even though the OT Bible says it isn't.
He is introducing ther new mindset. One that is not steeped into rules but one that is based on the heart, on mercy, and not the letter of the Law.
Where does that come from??? The context was a man with a shriveled hand and its healing
Mark 3:4 and Luke 6:9
And, it would make perfect sense if the Church taught that God is simple as a Being...In Apostolic theology I see no concept of the totality of scripture at all. I see only the concept of hierarchy of scripture determined by a hierarchy of men.
As St. John of Damascus, the last of the Desert Fathers, wrotes in his Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith," Ch. IV
For how could that possess body which is infinite, and boundless, and formless, and intangible and invisible, in short, simple and not compound? How could that be immutable which is circumscribed and subject to passion? And how could that be passionless which is composed of elements and is resolved again into them?
For combination is the beginning of conflict, and conflict of separation, and separation of dissolution, and dissolution is altogether foreign to God."
Of course, the Refomed theology still has eons of years to evolve into a theological faith and understand why the Church teaches God is simple, indivisible, and incomprehensible. The Reformed are still on the Zeus-like level of deity, no offese meant. It's like comparing the story of the Red Riding Hood with Shakespeare, or Grimm's Fairytales with Tolstoy, if that close.