I can't get religious gay people!

[Kulindahr]

I'm not sure why God would want spirtually pure Jews yet have Christians who are defiled by the things he does not permit his chosen.

The Jews must've thought that was quite a burden on them when these upstarts are claiming their God and barging into their Heaven with less spiritual purity than they must observe. Christians are cheating their way into heaven by their lax observance of the traditional Judaic rituals.

"Perhaps".

The apostles were clear in directing the ruling to Gentiles; that's why there's room for argument that it didn't apply to Jews. But Paul makes clear elsewhere that even those born Jews were no longer required to observe the Law -- though they could keep following as they had, if they wanted to. After all, the Messiah did the same thing for everyone.

Your second paragraph is one of the very things argued in that Council. I think perhaps the apostles were engaging in a bit of sarcasm by not mentioning that Jews were no longer required to follow any of that, either.

The point was that none of those things made one spiritually pure or impure anyway. That was something the Jews were supposed to have figured out, but had kept deliberately ignoring anyway, because sticking with laws allowed them to act superior to others. So they were no longer God's Chosen -- only those who followed the Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile, were.

 

[Kulindahr]

the Bible says that God killed over 2,000,000 people.

How can anyone trust him?

Your number is 'way small.

According to the Bible, God kills everyone who ever dies. He just does it in different ways to different people.

 

[star-warrior]

"Perhaps".

The apostles were clear in directing the ruling to Gentiles; that's why there's room for argument that it didn't apply to Jews. But Paul makes clear elsewhere that even those born Jews were no longer required to observe the Law -- though they could keep following as they had, if they wanted to. After all, the Messiah did the same thing for everyone.

Your second paragraph is one of the very things argued in that Council. I think perhaps the apostles were engaging in a bit of sarcasm by not mentioning that Jews were no longer required to follow any of that, either.

The point was that none of those things made one spiritually pure or impure anyway. That was something the Jews were supposed to have figured out, but had kept deliberately ignoring anyway, because sticking with laws allowed them to act superior to others. So they were no longer God's Chosen -- only those who followed the Messiah, whether Jew or Gentile, were.

The apostles or followers of Jesus made the council ruling, or some other people later than the original 12 disciples?

 

[oakpope]

Usually, yes. But that's merely because if you want to use a single English word for a single Greek word, it's the best choice. But it loses an incredible amount in translation -- it loses the sense of order, reason, logic, organizing foundational principle/concept.

To say "word" to a modern English-speaking audience means almost nothing; a word is just one of thousands of such things, one that can probably be traded for another. But to say "logos" to John's audience indicated something unique, and not merely unique, but the very source of uniqueness, the source of order, the thing which defines the very parameters of existence and does so in an orderly, integrated, dependable and constant fashion.

Logos in opposition to Chaos, I would be quite in agreement with you. But Logic has meanings that could detract from the goal. Word as in Commandment to exist, to the beginning of Order, yes. We can be logic with things that doesn't exist, so I prefer Word, as it contains Power and Order and Rules in it, for me at least.

PS : in French it is translated by Verbe, which is not quite the same thing as Word. Verbe is way more "active" than Mot (the translation for Word) in French.

 

[zoltanspawn]

I choose to believe that the Leviticus prohibitions were practices intended to symbolize the distinct culture of the Jews. The prohibitions were meant to be followed literally, but with figurative significance.

Fundamentalists may choose to believe that eating shellfish, for instance, is an evil act in and of itself. Of course that's stupid.

 

[TheHardOne]

I don't understand gay Republicans. I honestly don't see how that's different than a black man being in the KKK.

 

[oakpope]

I don't understand gay Republicans. I honestly don't see how that's different than a black man being in the KKK.

You're right, it was a nice sunny day today.

 

[Kulindahr]

I choose to believe that the Leviticus prohibitions were practices intended to symbolize the distinct culture of the Jews. The prohibitions were meant to be followed literally, but with figurative significance.

Fundamentalists may choose to believe that eating shellfish, for instance, is an evil act in and of itself. Of course that's stupid.

That's part of it. Cultic regulations are meant to set a people apart from those who worship a different God or gods. That explains why there are regulations we would consider moral, cultural, ritual, etc. all mixed together.