Replies

Ah. You are thinking Catholic practice with indigenous culture is all syncretism. But this is not so. There is a distinction (an important one, and also often a contentious one) to be made between syncretism and legitimate cultural accommodation.

Questions:

Do you think Sunday is in some distinct way the Lord's day for Christians, replacing the Seventh Day (Saturday)?

Do you think it's OK to translate the NT into other languages, other than the original Greek?

Do you think it's OK for the Bible to be formatted into chapters and verses?

Do you think it's OK to be married in a church? Do you think it's OK for the bride and groom to exchange rings?

>>Do you think Sunday is in some distinct way the Lord's day for Christians, replacing the Seventh Day (Saturday)?<<

There is no "Lords day" in scripture other than "the day of the Lord" which refers to the time of the Tribulation. The Sabbath was directed at the Israelites and not demanded for those during this "age of grace" as seen in Romans 14:5.

>>Do you think it's OK to translate the NT into other languages, other than the original Greek?<<

The Holy Spirit directed the New Testament be written in the Koine Greek which was the common language of the day and could be understood by the greatest majority of people at that time. The Koine Greek is not the "common language" today but must be consulted to make the most accurate translation as is possible.

>>Do you think it's OK for the Bible to be formatted into chapters and verses?<<

I understand the thought process but also see where it causes confusion. Once again I find consulting the original Greek best with the help of the Holy Spirit for understanding.

1 John 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

Now, that does not preclude those who have studied certain languages, subjects from being taken into consideration. It does however require that we ultimately rely on revelation as to the meaning of the words in scripture.

>>Do you think it's OK to be married in a church? Do you think it's OK for the bride and groom to exchange rings?<<

Immaterial to the subject as those are not part of the worship of God. Having studied the ancient Jewish wedding practices I find that today's wedding practices have their roots in them.

I’ll give a shot at answering as well.

Nope.

Of course. People need to read Scripture in their own languages.

Yes. Chapter and verse notations in no way impugn the integrity of Scripture. They are merely for ease of finding passages. And no, for anyone who’s planning on going there, they’re not divinely inspired. I would expect God to do a MUCH BETTER job than whoever did it in the first place. ( I begin to believe the theory about someone doing it riding horseback)

Why not? God ordained marriage. Seems fitting to be a place to be married. Rings are nice visual reminders of the vows made, and are obvious for discouraging unwanted advances (for the most part)