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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Using the word Lucifer | Is 14:12 | DocTrinsograce | 217863 | ||
Hi, Alex... Luther was, in a nutshell, saying that Erasmus wrote well, but was teaching false doctrine. Very briefly we might say it like this: "Erasmus, your writing is like fine gold-trimmed china and expensive silverware... but you serve up manure on it." All great men of the faith have flaws. I remember Professor Calhoun of Covenant Seminary saying, "When we look at Oliver Cromwell, we should not ignore the wart on his nose... but neither should we study it to the exclusion of all else." We should look at historical figures in the light of the culture and period of history within which they lived. May the future be as gracious to us! Interesting that you chose those particular issues concerning Luther. There are at least three others that I find much less excusable from the vantage point of five centuries later. :-) Textual criticism is the particular specialty of Bible scholars. The canonicity of specific books will never cease, until the Lord returns. Actually, there is much value in that study. We have far greater confidence in the canon now then ever before. (Ephesians 4:11-17) As to His "antisemitism" this is a brushing of paint that applies to all believers, especially those who base their authority on Scripture alone. As a Jew, this is something that I have carefully considered, especially after the Lord graciously saved me. I do not find Luther saying anything more scathing than what we find in the Scriptures themselves. I think that Stephen sums it up very well as he finishes his exposition of Jewish History up to and including the tribunal that was sentencing him to death. "You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become; you who received the law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it." (Acts 7:51-53 NASB) From the largely Gentile perspective of modern Bible readers, these words lose their acidity. Believe me, they are harsh and denunciatory. Much more so by a people who held themselves in such high esteem. See their reaction in verse 54. In a world that confuses respect for beliefs with respect for people, we will be continually criticized, condemned, and censured for saying the same things that the Holy Spirit has said in the Word. In Him, Doc |
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2 | Using the word Lucifer | Is 14:12 | alex39 | 217885 | ||
Thank you Doc, for explaining further the quotation you used. I was pretty sure I understood it, but... I can agree with you about looking at the times and culture of people when we read their works. We are all given different levels of understanding and light (individually and as generations) - but, how hard can it be to understand the simple words of John in 1Jn. 4:8 "He who does not love does not know God..."? Didn't Jesus say somewhere (in the language of today), "If you cannot love the guy down the street whom you can see and touch, how can you love God, whom you cannot see and touch?" I'm sorry, but I cannot make and accept excuses for someone who claims christianity and fosters hatred in his heart for a people, any people (and even more so when the object of that hatred is God's chosen people.) But I do thank you for answering me. Alex |
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3 | Using the word Lucifer | Is 14:12 | DocTrinsograce | 217890 | ||
Hi, Alex... Where exactly have you read that Martin Luther fostered "fosters hatred in his heart for a people, any people (and even more so when the object of that hatred is God's chosen people.)" I have read a lot of the Reformers, and I do not see them stating anything that Scripture does not already state. Perhaps I have missed something. Would you cite your sources, please? In Him, Doc |
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