Re: a question of meaning

[bigLight <biglight at pacbell_net>]

John's Two-Cent Statement, Re: Evangelical Theology, not Stated for the 
Purpose of Theological Debate, But Just Folks Will Know Where He Stands:

	Not my cup o' tea. I don't read the Old Testament with the idea 	that 
things like the Pslams were written as prophecies of 		Christ. That's an 
interperative decision which is not necessarily supported by evidence 
from the text. I read it knowing the writer was a Jew and a Jew of a 
particular time period. I definitely see how the early Christians 
largely saw themselves as reforming Judaism, not starting their own 
religion, but I personally don't think that 		warrants reading Christology 
into statements that are clearly 			written about Jews, by Jews and for Jews.

Bethany Keeley wrote:

> I generally consider myself a part of Israel by virtue of being a child
> of God.  We are spiritual children of Abraham.  And there's that image
> Paul uses... I think somewhere in Romans, about being wild olive
> branches grafted into the origional olive tree.
> 
> Bethany
> 
> np: OTR - GDBD
> 
> Kelvin Bailey wrote:
> 
> 
>>Maybe this will help...maybe it won't...
>>
>>
>>I think you're missing the point.  Sure, the writers
>>of the Psalms are themselves referring to Israel, but
>>the promises they contain aren't just for Israel.



In Psalsm 103, there are numerous references to the "righteous," "those 
who fear Him," etc. At the time King David was writing, there was little 
or no consideration that non-Jews would be in that group. I don't think 
that King David would have considered a Buddhist monk, for e.g., one of 
the "righteous," b/c righteousness, to King David was largely about 
*purity* as expressed in the Torah. You'd have to know the Torah to be 
able to follow it's rules. That's what made the Jews special  (in thier 
own eyes)- they were people chosen to recive Jehovah's revelation.
  Like I said before, the Jews didn't begin to consider Jehovah to be a 
god for everyone until after the Babylonian capitivity. Jehovah begins 
to be expressed as a universal god with the prophets.

-John


-- 
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"The market is the reason our housing is so expensive. It is the reason 
our public transportation is lousy. It is the reason our cities sprawl 
idiotically all across the map. It is the reason our word processing 
programs stink and our prescription drugs cost more than anywhere else. 
In order that a fortunate few might enjoy a kind of prosperity unequaled 
in human history, the rest of us have had to abandon ourselves to a 
lifetime of casual employment, to unquestioning obedience within an 
ever-more arbitrary and despotic corporate regime, to medical care 
available on a maybe/maybe-not basis, to a housing market interested in 
catering only to the fortunate. "
	-Thomas Frank
++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.johnpauldavis.org

---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/OtR/

---

Follow-Ups:

• Re: a question of meaning
• From: Kelvin Bailey <prestokelvo at yahoo_com>

References:

• Re: a question of meaning
• From: Kelvin Bailey <prestokelvo at yahoo_com>
• Re: a question of meaning
• From: Bethany Keeley <blk4 at calvin_edu>

---

• Prev by Date: moth
• Next by Date: Re: Re: Re: a question of meaning
• Prev by thread: Re: a question of meaning
• Next by thread: Re: a question of meaning
• Index(es):
  • Date
  • Thread