exegesis = exposition for what is...

[Scuba Pete]

ok, how did you get that information?

I just told you. God.

 

[waitasec]

I just told you. God.

that's who told you

i'm asking how was that piece of information conveyed to you

 

[Scuba Pete]

that's who told you

i'm asking how was that piece of information conveyed to you

We don't quite comprehend the idea that Christianity is a "revealed" religion, do we? By "we", I mean "you".

It's like an inside joke. The theists are all snickering because their atheist friends just don't get it. Meanwhile, the atheists think that since they are the cool kids with all the smarts, that the theists must be smoking something.

Consequently, the discussions devolve into something like this:

O rly?
Ya rly?
No wai!
Ya, wai!
Oh yeah?
Yeah!

One side feels smug for their inside knowledge while the others feel intellectually superior. Both are kinda lame since they are just two sides of the same coin.

 

[waitasec]

We don't quite comprehend the idea that Christianity is a "revealed" religion, do we? By "we", I mean "you".

It's like an inside joke. The theists are all snickering because their atheist friends just don't get it. Meanwhile, the atheists think that since they are the cool kids with all the smarts, that the theists must be smoking something.

Consequently, the discussions devolve into something like this:

O rly?
Ya rly?
No wai!
Ya, wai!
Oh yeah?
Yeah!

One side feels smug for their inside knowledge while the others feel intellectually superior. Both are kinda lame since they are just two sides of the same coin.

ok then you can't explain how it is you got your information.



btw, i like your signature.

 

[waitasec]

i just wonder how it is that this inside information is available to some and not others


why can't god speak for himself unequivocally for everyone to understand?

 

[Scuba Pete]

ok then you can't explain how it is you got your information.

Ephesians 3:2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. NIV

How do you explain revealed to someone who has had no revelations? How indeed, do you explain sight to someone who is blind? There is no voice that comes down. It's just obvious.

btw, i like your signature.

Thanks. I hate bigotry. It's my one hate in life and I plan on nurturing it.

i just wonder how it is that this inside information is available to some and not others

Some of us have opened our eyes, our hearts and our minds.

why can't god speak for himself unequivocally for everyone to understand?

He did. You crucified him.

 

[outhouse]

We don't quite comprehend the idea that Christianity is a "revealed" religion, do we? By "we", I mean "you".

It's like an inside joke. The theists are all snickering because their atheist friends just don't get it. Meanwhile, the atheists think that since they are the cool kids with all the smarts, that the theists must be smoking something.

Consequently, the discussions devolve into something like this:

O rly?
Ya rly?
No wai!
Ya, wai!
Oh yeah?
Yeah!

One side feels smug for their inside knowledge while the others feel intellectually superior. Both are kinda lame since they are just two sides of the same coin.

but its not that way at all.


gnerally it is the atheist that understands fully christianity


and most chrisrtians dont have a clue about the reality of the book they base their lives on.


there is no inside joke at all, it is very very transparent

 

[outhouse]

How do you explain revealed to someone who has had no revelations? How indeed, do you explain sight to someone who is blind? There is no voice that comes down. It's just obvious.

do you realize what your writing?



its said paul may have been epileptic, i wont hold any weight to that

BUT where your getting into trouble is that paul states through his epistles that are attributed to him, that he had a awakening from within, about jesus

Acts states the opposite of what paul writes about himself.

 

[outhouse]

by the way there is a good chance Ignatius wrote Ephesians

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

they were not able to distinguish between other worlds.


when it rained, god did it
when sheep reproduced, god did it
when crops flourished, god did it
when they got sick, evil sprits did it


when they thought of godin their imagination, it was the holy spirit guiding them.

This is because you interpret Mythology in the same way most of the intellectual class of folks in the 19th century did. They believed that mythology is a obsolete type of thought. Once modern science was put in place there was just no need for mythology. Since, it was only a literal explanation for natural phenomena.

Mythology is much more then that. I personally feel very comfortable with mythology.

I will use your example.

when god was in your heart, the holy spirit had filled you.

I have had those peak experiences that Maslow talked about. I prefer the Christian explanation over the scientific one. God being in your heart is a much better poetic expression of this feeling then some medical explanation of you're feeling in your chest.

 

[Levite]

difficult to understand.


why is god so hard to understand?

should we even try to, we barely understand ourselves.

Exegesis can be exposition of what is difficult to understand, or the revelation of hidden meanings, or the use of sacred text as basis for moral or homiletical or legal or social parables, or it can be an exercise in theological postulation.

As for why God is so hard to understand, how would God not be hard to understand? He is God, infinite and transcendant and eternal; whereas we are His creations, finite, limited, and mortal. But like any challenging concept, it is through wrestling with understanding it that our knowledge and wisdom grow.

And we should certainly try to grapple with the knowledge of God and the meaning of text, because in doing so, we learn about ourselves as well.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

difficult to understand.


why is god so hard to understand?

should we even try to, we barely understand ourselves.

I have problems with exegesis being the highest, most truthful, explanation of any text.

Yes, textual criticism, historical and cultural backgrounds are very important for scholars to categorize and define any religious text. This is just the back ground information. At times exegesis it is unnecessary. The important thing is how the individual uses the info to make themselves a better person.

 

[waitasec]

Ephesians 3:2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. NIV

ok. so you got this idea from the bible.
if the bible claims to be the word of god, then it is the word of god, is that right?

How do you explain revealed to someone who has had no revelations? How indeed, do you explain sight to someone who is blind? There is no voice that comes down. It's just obvious.

people get contradicting revelations all the time though.

Thanks. I hate bigotry. It's my one hate in life and I plan on nurturing it.

i used to have a signature that said
something to the lines of: i don't tolerate intolerance

Some of us have opened our eyes, our hearts and our minds.

isn't that making an unsubstantiated judgment call on others who do not
see god the same as you do?

He did. You crucified him.

i wasn't there though
besides i wouldn't want someone to pay for my personal responsibility and culpability, as i find that to be, well, irresponsible.

 

[Scuba Pete]

ok. so you got this idea from the bible.
if the bible claims to be the word of god,

The scriptures never claim to be the word of God.

people get contradicting revelations all the time though.

Different interpretations can be confusing.

i used to have a signature that said
something to the lines of: i don't tolerate intolerance

As did mine until earlier today.

isn't that making an unsubstantiated judgment call on others who do not see god the same as you do?

That would be an observation based on the fact that he doesn't see things as I do. I don't judge.

i wasn't there though

Says you! It was still a pretty good come back.

 

[Scuba Pete]

do you realize what your writing?

Probably more than you realize what I wrote.

BUT where your getting into trouble

I'm not in trouble, but I am working on that.

 

[waitasec]

The scriptures never claim to be the word of God.

so why did you use a passage from the bible to explain to me how it was that you were given this information?

Different interpretations can be confusing.

well i know that i won't confuse water with fire...
to bad your god isn't understood the same way

That would be an observation based on the fact that he doesn't see things as I do. I don't judge.

you yourself said

Some of us have opened our eyes

meaning some have not. right? so how can you say that?
does the bible justify such a statement?

 

[outhouse]

This is because you interpret Mythology in the same way most of the intellectual class of folks in the 19th century did. They believed that mythology is a obsolete type of thought. Once modern science was put in place there was just no need for mythology. Since, it was only a literal explanation for natural phenomena.

Mythology is much more then that. I personally feel very comfortable with mythology.

I will use your example.



I have had those peak experiences that Maslow talked about. I prefer the Christian explanation over the scientific one. God being in your heart is a much better poetic expression of this feeling then some medical explanation of you're feeling in your chest.

I dont think you follow me.

I understand the positive benifits of mythology in theology.

 

[Scuba Pete]

so why did you use a passage from the bible to explain to me how it was that you were given this information?

Because it explained it rather well. The scriptures are useful but they never claim to be the word of God.

well i know that i won't confuse water with fire...
to bad your god isn't understood the same way

Don't look now, but none of us are understood the same way. People often take exception where none was intended and they love to twist things trying to find a loop hole. That says little about the speaker as much as it does about the listeners. The same sun melts butter and hardens clay.

meaning some have not. right? so how can you say that?

I can't be blamed if a person can not see spiritually. It's a fact and one they readily admitted to. I see no problems here.

does the bible justify such a statement?

In a word? Yes.

 

[Shermana]

The book of Revelation doesn't claim to be the prophetic words of God and Jesus?

 

[Scuba Pete]

The book of Revelation doesn't claim to be the prophetic words of God and Jesus?

No, it doesn't claim to be the word of God...

Revelations 1:1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. NIV

It's John's testimony about the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. John is still human and completely flawed.