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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Theological Term: Arian Epistemology | Prov 15:10 | DocTrinsograce | 153169 | ||
The great 4th Century heretic, Arius, who denied the incarnation and the full divinity of the Son of God. Arius' fundamental epistemic principle was, "I will not believe what I cannot understand. What I cannot understand cannot possibly be true." In other words, he makes our finite human reason the measure of what can be true, and if we read the Bible that way, we will get into trouble at numerous points, not only on the incarnation, but on the doctrine of the Trinity, on the nexus between sovereignty and responsibility. Think about it, my friends, the Bible claims to teach you about an infinite God. Now, if you’re finite, and you’re reading the Bible about an infinite God, wouldn’t you suspect that there would be some places that you don’t quite have down pat? But if you say, “I’m not going to believe it unless I have it all sorted out,” wouldn’t that require the God being taught by the scriptures to be finite enough for your finite mind to comprehend him? Thus, positively and finally contradicting the claim of the Bible! In other words, if I understood everything in the Bible, I would immediately reject Christianity, because it would mean this pea brain can somehow understand the supposedly infinite God revealed there. And the fact of the matter is, I'll go through all of eternity and I'll never know all there is to know about the infinite God. And so, this kind of epistemology or investigative starting point that says, "If I can’t understand it, it cannot be true," is writ large across the error of divine repentence. | ||||||
2 | Theological Term: Arian Epistemology | Prov 15:10 | BradK | 153182 | ||
Doc, Your post hit the nail on the head for me as we just dealt with this in our Adult Sunday School class yesterday. We're studying Sound Doctrine: The Doctrines of the Nicene Creed. I'm developing an appreciation for what those in the Council went through:-) In covering the "Son: Creator, Redeemer, Light of Life, we looked at the prologue in John 1:1-18. One of our class members (who)is always a little questioning about things "orthodox", could not beleieve that the "Word" referred to in Johns' Gospel is referring to Christ. (He also has a problem with verse 18) In seeking clarification, he admitted to being non-Trinitarian and also doubts that Jesus was God! When asked what scholar he could point to support his view, he was curiosly silent. Another one went so far as to say that we need to "think outside the box on these matters"! (There's always a couple to keep you on your toes) So, Orthodoxy is a bit tough to teach, yet, to some, harder to comprehend. It thinks the point that If I can't understand it, it cannot be true, is indeed where some folks are. At some point we must accept by faith what scripture teaches. Our reasoning may leave us hanging. Speaking the truth in Love, BradK |
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3 | Theological Term: Arian Epistemology | Prov 15:10 | DocTrinsograce | 153200 | ||
Dear Brother Brad, That sounds like a very intersting class! I have to admit that I found it difficult to study the creeds and confessions themselves. Frankly, on their own, they can sometimes be pretty dry. :-) Then I discovered that they made a whole lot more sense when you study them in the context of what was going on historically. In fact, since then I've discovered that some argue that this is the only proper way to understand these Christian documents. One needs to clearly understand the heresies that prompted these documents. In fact, what we soon discover, is that there isn't much new under the sun. If we know something about Christian history, we can often spot the same old junk resurfacing. Which reminds me... I forgot to wish the Augsburg Confession happy birthday yesterday... it turned 475 years old! :-) Thank you for your post! In Him, Doc PS If anyone is interested the Augsburg Confession can be found at http://www.ctsfw.edu/etext/boc/ac/ It still forms the basis of Lutheran faith and practice today... at least for the more conservative of our Lutheran brethren. |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Prov 15:10 | Author | ||
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DocTrinsograce | ||
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BradK | ||
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DocTrinsograce |