Re: daily lenten scripture readings: tuesday march 15, 2011. -- Mamusz' Restoration Forum

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Date Posted: 21:13:48 03/14/11 Mon
Author: George
Subject: Re: daily lenten scripture readings: tuesday march 15, 2011.
In reply to: john 's message, "daily lenten scripture readings: tuesday march 15, 2011." on 18:24:55 03/14/11 Mon

>daily lenten scripture readings: tuesday march 15,
>2011.
>
>Psalm 32
>
>
>Psalm 32
>The Joy of Forgiveness
>Of David. A Maskil.
> 1 Happy are those whose transgression is
>forgiven,
>whose sin is covered.
>2 Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no
>iniquity,
> and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
>3 While I kept silence, my body wasted away
> through my groaning all day long.
>4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
> my strength was dried up as by the heat of
>summer. Selah
>5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you,
> and I did not hide my iniquity;
>I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the
>LORD,"
> and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
>6 Therefore let all who are faithful
> offer prayer to you;
>at a time of distress, the rush of mighty waters
> shall not reach them.
>7 You are a hiding place for me;
> you preserve me from trouble;
> you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
>Selah
>8 I will instruct you and teach you the way you should
>go;
> I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
>9 Do not be like a horse or a mule, without
>understanding,
> whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
> else it will not stay near you.
>10 Many are the torments of the wicked,
> but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in
>the LORD.
>11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,
> and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
>Psalms 32:1-11 (NRSV)
>

In whose spirit there is no deceit?
John, did not the CofC leadership gain entry into the WCC by supplying "documents" that said that the RLDS church didn't exist before 1860 or so, and that it was founded by Joseph Smith III?

If you are trying to use these scriptures to convince lurkers that the CofC is a benign Christian organization that has any interest in what the Bible says, you are also practicing deceit.

Why not provide some quotes of scriptures written by Steve Veazey? Aren't you, as a minister of the gospel, obligated to provide the most up-to-date revelations and commandments from God? Instead, you are fooling around with obsolete scriptures like the Old and New Testaments, which is so obsolete (vis a vis Mr. Veazey's revelatory scriptures) that it condemns the practice of homosexuality as incompatible with Christian teachings.

The scriptures you quoted can be had from any Protestant or Roman Catholic church. Quote some "Lenten scriptures" that are CofC scriptures, and show the world the great necessity for the CofC's unique and essential contribution to Christian scripture.

>
>
>Genesis 4:1-16
>
>
>Chapter 4
>Cain and Abel
> 1 Adam lay with his wife Eve, and she became
>pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, "With the
>help of the LORD I have brought forth a man." 2 Later
>she gave birth to his brother Abel.
>
> Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3
>In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits
>of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel
>brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his
>flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his
>offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not
>look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face
>was downcast.
>
> 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry?
>Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right,
>will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is
>right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to
>have you, but you must master it."
>
> 8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go
>out to the field." And while they were in the field,
>Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
>
> 9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your
>brother Abel?"
>
> "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's
>keeper?"
>
> 10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen!
>Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground.
>11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the
>ground, which opened its mouth to receive your
>brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the
>ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You
>will be a restless wanderer on the earth."
>
> 13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more
>than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the
>land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will
>be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds
>me will kill me."
>
> 15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so ; if anyone
>kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times
>over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one
>who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from
>the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, east
>of Eden.
>Gen 4:1-16 (NIV)

John, this scripture also does not accurately reflect the CofC understanding of sin and repentance. If it did, Cain would have told God that it isn't necessary for him to lament having killed his brother, because "it was a long time ago, too long ago for any rectification to be possible or necessary."

>
>
>Hebrews 4: 14 - 5:10
>
>
>Christ Is Our High Priest
>14 So then, since we have a great High Priest who has
>entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold
>firmly to what we believe.15 This High Priest of ours
>understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the
>same testings we do, yet he did not sin.16 So let us
>come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There
>we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to
>help us when we need it most.
>Heb 4:14-16 (NLT)

John, how many "high priests" does the CofC have? Would you please post a scripture that accurately reflects CofC theology and practice, rather than a generic Christian scripture that misleads people into thinking that the CofC actually believes that there is only one high priest, Jesus Christ?

>
>Chapter 5
>1 Every high priest is a man chosen to represent other
>people in their dealings with God. He presents their
>gifts to God and offers sacrifices for their sins.2
>And he is able to deal gently with ignorant and
>wayward people because he himself is subject to the
>same weaknesses.3 That is why he must offer sacrifices
>for his own sins as well as theirs.
>4 And no one can become a high priest simply because
>he wants such an honor. He must be called by God for
>this work, just as Aaron was.5 That is why Christ did
>not honor himself by assuming he could become High
>Priest. No, he was chosen by God, who said to him,
>
>
>�You are my Son.
>
>Today I have become your Father. �
>
>
>6 And in another passage God said to him,
>
>
>�You are a priest forever in the order of
>Melchizedek.�

John, this passage loses its specialness in the CofC milieu. In the CofC milieu, men are made priests after the order of Melchizedek by other men, every month or so. There is no cosmic event associated with such an ordination. IF you were a Protestant or Catholic minister, your quote would have some relevance, but as it is, it is nothing but confusion. What do the CofC scriptures say about the Melchizedek priesthood? How many people have had this priesthood conferred on them by CofC functionaries in the last 30 days.

>
>
>7 While Jesus was here on earth, he offered prayers
>and pleadings, with a loud cry and tears, to the one
>who could rescue him from death. And God heard his
>prayers because of his deep reverence for God.8 Even
>though Jesus was God�s Son, he learned obedience from
>the things he suffered.9 In this way, God qualified
>him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source
>of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.10 And
>God designated him to be a High Priest in the order of
>Melchizedek.
>Heb 5:1-10 (NLT)

John, this is an example of why paraphrastic, hip translatons are really, really bad. The RSV says at this verse that Jesus had "Godly fear." In the Old Testament, God scoffs at the claim of piety on the part of the Israelites, when he says, "If I am Lord, then where is my fear?" (fear, in this case, meaning the reverence due to God, not had by one individual for another.) That is compatible with the Christian doctrine that Jesus is God. As the NLT paraphrases it, "because of his deep reverence for God," it makes it appear that Jesus has deep reverence for himself. Unless, of course the CofC likes the NLT because it devalues the divinity of Jesus in all these subtle ways.

Do yourself a favor and throw these paraphrases in the trash. As the apostle who edited the Authorized Book of Mormon into the Revised Authorized Version back in 1966 wrote: "This is not a paraphrase...." He did that because a paraphrase is completely useless for any doctrinal purpose. I suspect that the NLT is popular because it is also useless for any doctrinal purpose. If it had such a use, it would contradict the rock solid doctrines of the CofC contained in such :auxilliary scriptures" as Section 164 of the CofC Doctrine and Covenants.

I still wonder -- why no CofC scripture for lent? Did none of the CofC prophets from Joseph III to Steve Veazey write anything faith-building that is suitable for Lent?

George

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