| | :::::::::Nitpicking would not have led to the fullfillment of scripture through Jesus' death. When you read one of these Gospels as a whole,a nd not just in part, you get the benefit of seeing the bigger picture and the patterns that start to emerge, just as you do with any great novel. In this section, Jesus was nothing but honest in calling the Pharisees out on their hypocrisy and style-over-substance, and now through his honesty he's made enemies of them. They are now motivated to not just embarrass or pick at his teachings - they see him as a danger to their (misguided) way of life, and see him as a threat to be eliminated. They choose to entrap him and get him to make a heretical statement, which would explain his ability to perform miracles while turning the people against him. With this the pattern is set that leads to His trial and crucifixion. Scripture isn't just a story, it's a tapestry, and trying to justify something that fits the context and intention like heresy being replaced by "political incorrectness" is like replacing silk with polyester - it still holds the tapestry together, but it doesn't really belong there. --[[User:ChrisY|ChrisY]] 11:59, 27 January 2010 (EST) | | :::::::::Nitpicking would not have led to the fullfillment of scripture through Jesus' death. When you read one of these Gospels as a whole,a nd not just in part, you get the benefit of seeing the bigger picture and the patterns that start to emerge, just as you do with any great novel. In this section, Jesus was nothing but honest in calling the Pharisees out on their hypocrisy and style-over-substance, and now through his honesty he's made enemies of them. They are now motivated to not just embarrass or pick at his teachings - they see him as a danger to their (misguided) way of life, and see him as a threat to be eliminated. They choose to entrap him and get him to make a heretical statement, which would explain his ability to perform miracles while turning the people against him. With this the pattern is set that leads to His trial and crucifixion. Scripture isn't just a story, it's a tapestry, and trying to justify something that fits the context and intention like heresy being replaced by "political incorrectness" is like replacing silk with polyester - it still holds the tapestry together, but it doesn't really belong there. --[[User:ChrisY|ChrisY]] 11:59, 27 January 2010 (EST) |
| | ::::::::::Chris, you're using a lot of words but haven't addressed my simple point: how would modern day intellectual elitists treat someone who could perform miracles? And your analogy about replacing silk with polyester doesn't hold up. We're using powerful modern terms not available to the original authors which are an improvement, not replacing the original with cheap alternatives. [[User:JeffT|JeffT]] 12:15, 27 January 2010 (EST) | | ::::::::::Chris, you're using a lot of words but haven't addressed my simple point: how would modern day intellectual elitists treat someone who could perform miracles? And your analogy about replacing silk with polyester doesn't hold up. We're using powerful modern terms not available to the original authors which are an improvement, not replacing the original with cheap alternatives. [[User:JeffT|JeffT]] 12:15, 27 January 2010 (EST) |
| | + | :::::::::::No need to ask that hypothetically. Look at James Randi and other skeptics' treatment of faith healers. Sincere Christians imbued with the gifts promised by Christ help countless people around them, and they're called frauds and charlatans. When called upon to "prove" their abilities, the goalposts are continually moved and excuses concocted so they can always be discredited in spite of their success. [[User:DouglasA|DouglasA]] 12:27, 27 January 2010 (EST) |