[
quote=MaddLlama]I never said I was specifically referring to the Bible, however you'd be lying if you told me that the Bible doesn't contain a large portion of laws (don't do this, do this, etc).
It sure does ,but they were brought forth to point people at that time to a way to conduct their indulgent and carnal appetities.
I hear what your saying ,but as far as the bible is concerned ,the law was never intended ,as I said before, to declare or make one righteous,before God.
It was meant more as a means of guidance before Christ came,but when he came he fulfilled the law and those who follow Chrrist and surrender to him ,in him is the fullness of the law met.
Apart from serving him ,the law actually does not bring about the life that we think when we keep it ,it merely shows how sinful we are and that we can't actually keep it and we are therefore left unjustified before a holy God
The law's sole purpose was to point to Christ and show us what sin was
Gal 3:24 was our
schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a
schoolmaster.
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are
under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God.Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law [is] the knowledge of sin.
Paul who was raised up under one of the most religious legal minds,Gamaliea was quoted as saying
Rom 7:7 What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I
had not known sin, but by the law: for I had
not known lust, except the law had said,
Thou shalt not covet.
There is so much regarding the law then just looking at from the surface as a bunch of do's and don't's. There is a spiritual understanding that only comes through God's spirit who reveals it.
You keep talking about this list of laws that God sent down that he expects people to follow, but I think that's unnecessary.
As did God and that is why he sent his son,to fulfill the law and the prophets who all pointed to Christ
It is far more productive, to me, to have an ideal or several, that can be interpreted for any situation so that you can appropriately judge what the concequences of your actions will be.
But where you get these ideals is what should be considered,man,society,relative,humanistic,philosophical mindsets,ideologies from men and their own revealtions.
In my eyes, this is a better method of doing things than having a big book with an index where you can look up what god has to say about some subject, and then that's what you believe.
Again, not to be insulting,but that is a narrow minded view and inaccurate at best.
From the outside looking into Christianity, it appears to many of the unlookers just another faith, leaving many theological issues open for interpretation, personal opinion,criticism,refutation through logic,reason and intellect by the natural mind.
But that is what it only appears as,it is far deeper then the human faculties will enable it to comprehend.
Not that it is indecipherable to humans,but only through the agent of the Holy Spirit of God.
As mystical as that may sound, it is the one and only way God communicates and reveals himself and all other aspects of His kingdom to mankind this day.
Therefore his word,his actions,his methods,his past present and history and all the acts of God are all only understood if the individual has his Holy Spirit residing within.
I can't be any clearer than that,it does'nt mean that God can't use free moral agents,personal experiences,other books and tools and a host of other means in which to reach his people ,but it is all governed by his Spirit and the Spirit's ability to work on individuals.
The real problem is what hinders us from hearing and responding to that small still voice of God.
There are many things in this world that have an appearnace as being from God and masquerades itself as spritiual,being assumed it is from God, but is in fact not.
The Bible may not have said index, but there certainly are Christian books out there that index Bible passages in exactly this way.
Having to actively consider your values, and cause and effect in every decision you make gives you greater autonomy than having to think "well, what does god say?".
Yes ,again, what one's are the real deal and what are just an array of men's thoughts as a culmination of ideas and ideologies assuming they are the things of God
Do you think that morality is only based on concequence? As in, the only reason people have to be moral is the fear that God may punish them
No,I think that consequence is definitily a deterrent and always has been ,not just with the moral law of God but with civil law .
The reason I believe that men try to achieve morality is because it is in their DNA, their nature,their makeup,and when we fail we are determined to try and do better ,because that is how God made us.Sin,lawlessness has twarfed this.
But society paints a very clear picture of how futile our attempts are in a world that is laden with and percipitates immorality through ,peer pressure,intimidation, influence,expectations,greed,selfishness,pride.lust,rebellion.
Men are moral and goood based on their own standards,call it relative thinking,no a days,but when are objectives are hindered ,by anything or anyone,we see quickly see how our morals one day are reversed the next.
But the problem is ,man tries to be moral in and of themselves and some may be very successful at that,much of it is on their own abilities, through will power,positive thinking,religious practice etc and are therfore forever under the law.
Sure, there is a certain attraction to thinking we're the center of God's attention, but the reality of the universe doesn't seem to bear that out.
