>> Really? I know devout Christians who believe that birth control is not
>> evil. So much for the "common moral syntax".
>
>You must differentiate between the absolute moral code as instituted
>by God, and the human interpretation and understanding of that
>absolute.
Actually, you must do that, since you are trying to prove that the former
exists. And you must provide some logical evidence to back you up.
>If there is no authority on earth to state the correct interpretation
>of scripture, then differences in interpretation will occur.
And that's the whole problem, isn't it? On the one hand, you claim
that there is such thing as an objective, transcendent moral standard,
but when it becomes abundantly clear that nobody can agree on what
that standard is, then you can just say, "well, they don't know what
they're talking about. They've misinterpreted the scripture." Meanwhile,
the other side is saying exactly the same thing about you.
And I don't have time for that. My morality comes from within. It
doesn't depend on an obscure, heavily-modified, ancient text that has
been through several translations and who knows how many "revisions"
to make it fit the political mood of the day. I wouldn't put an ounce
of faith in something like that.
>We Catholics believe Jesus would never leave the interpretation of
>scripture to the individual, even guided by the Holy Spirit, exactly
>because of this problem. Hence he created his church, which we
>believe to be the Catholic Church, to be the final authority ON
>EARTH in the correct interpretation of scripture.
And there are other Christians who believe that the Catholic Church
is really a tool of the devil. What logical evidence do you have to
prove them wrong?
>This is backed up in scripture when Philip the deacon asks the
>Ethiopian, who was reading scripture, "Canst thou understand what
>thou art reading?" The Ethiopian replied, "How could I .. without
>someone to guide me?" [Acts 8:30-31]. We are also reminded that
>"no prophesy in scripture is the subject of private interpretation"
>[2 Pet 1:20].
>
>If indivudual guidance by the Holy Spirit were a reality, each
>Christian would understand the same thing from any particular verse
>since God cannot teach error. Yet as you point out, Christians have
>understood contradictory things from scripture. Even in the same
>church, while many may agree on most major points, the frequency and
>vehemence of the squabbles on lesser matters, which should be just as
>clear if the Holy Spirit is enlightening them, prove the sacred text
>cannot always explain itself.
>
>I don't want to get into the Catholic/Protestant differences, and
>I in no way wish to offend anyone with my comments (I hope my use
>of "We believe" was adequate to the task). However, I do want you
>to understand my belief as to why there is this discrepancy in the
>moral code as interpreted by Christians today.
I understand your beliefs, and I respect them. But I am still not
convinced.
_____________________________________________________________
| Russell Stewart |
| http://www.rt66.com/diamond/ |
|_____________________________________________________________|
| Albuquerque, New Mexico | diamond@rt66.com |
|_____________________________|_______________________________|
2 + 2 = 5, for very large values of 2.