Posted by Jonathan on February 21, 1998 at 15:01:54:
In Reply to: Re: Unity against Against Satan (i.e. Materialism) posted by Mohamed Ghounem on February 21, 1998 at 13:33:24:
You seem to be getting inconsistent!
You write:
: Jesus says= "I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. John 17:23
I thought you said that you thought John was a corrupted text.
: "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:3
I thought you said that Paul was a false teacher.
: "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, Romans 15:5
You said that Paul was a false teacher
: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Colossians 3:14
You said that Paul was a false teacher.
: If we believe Paul in that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, then the Jews would not accept Jesus, Paul also called the Law of Moses a curse, taking away from more unity with the Jews.
Therefore you conclude that because the Jews could not accept what Paul said. Have you ever read the Old Testament? The Jews often did not accept the Word of God from the lips of his prophets. That does not mean the Ezekiel, Jeremiah ar any of the others were false prophets. The Jews killed plenty of God's prophets because they didn't like the truth. (an aside to Mr Cohen. I am not blaming the Jews for these things, I know that religious people have been guilty of ignoring God throughout time. Truly it is a picture of how fickle and hard our hearts can be.)
You seem to be in the habit of taking what you like out of the Bible in support of your arguments and then in the same breath say that the self same texts are unreliable. You can't have it both ways. You can't use Paul to justify Unity between Muslims and Christians and then in the next breath say that Paul was a deceiver. You are being inconsistent.
You seem to say that some parts are inspired and others aren't. You agree with Mike Cohen when he writes to discuss difficulties between Christianity and Judaism, and say that the Qur'an agrees with the Old Testament while ignoring the fact that the Qur'an does not agree with the Old Testament (eg. Isaac vs Ishmael; the story of Jonah etc.)
What I am saying is that you pick and choose out of God's Word what you in you wisdom think is inspired and what isn't. Who, may I ask has given you the authority to become the arbiter of truth? Do you profess the have the authority to decide on a whim what is God's word and what isn't? Disagree with the message of the Gospel and of the Bible as a whole if you like, but be consistent.
God bless,
Jonathan.