Re: Christ Centered Poly Friendly Chruches/ PeopleWhere are
cnystrom said:
It is vitally important to know if you are dealing with an elephant snout or a snake. It takes wisdom and knowledge to be able to identify poisonous snakes from non-poisonous snakes.
This is a kind of bait-and-switch, isn't it? There some poisonous snakes that have some 'close cousins' that resemble them that are non-poisonous (which is mostly a problem for the non-poisonous snake that gets the shovel in the back of the neck), but is it really that hard to tell a snake from an elephant's trunk?
And he didn't say "behold, it's a snake"; he said "the elephant is very
like a snake". Crucial difference. He knew he was investigating something big that he could only comprehend a part of, and he was comparing it to something familiar that he understood, using a simile.
And distinguishing poisonous snakes from non-poisonous isn't really rocket science anyway, is it? And isn't the main purpose of that to ensure that you don't kill an innocent, non-poisonous snake? Otherwise the correct strategy is "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out".
cnystrom said:
You can not just say the whole elephant snout / snake issue is just too complicated and we do not want to deal with it.
Nobody's doing that, or at least I'm not. I'm just not sure you're really getting the point of the parable.
In fact, to me it seems that in these matters you have essentially committed to that strategy: "If we can't be sure it's not going to kill us, we'll kill it first just to make sure."
cnystrom said:
Further it is not enough to just be aware of just one type of snake, rattle snakes for example (Mormonism), because another poisonous snake, copper heads (Judaizers, for example) will bite you and possible kill you. The wise thing is to do your best to be aware of ALL dangerous snakes and take appropriate precautions.
Seems to me we're drifting a lot, here. The point of the parable was that when finite, limited men (at best, before you get to any 'issues') try to understand the infinite, unlimited God, there are going to be—there
must be—differences in our experiences and understanding of that God. To say otherwise is effectively to claim equality with God.
Chris, what does it mean to you that the apostle Peter said, "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him." Don't read too much into that or try to figure out where you think I'm headed with this, just tell me what that verse means to you.