Mike said the following...
I don't have the time or inclination to engage a back-and-forth about
who Jesus or God is. Anyway, I'm not yet finished with Fulton Sheen's
slur and your failure to own it. As for who Jesus is, I touched on this
a good bit here, and it will have to do:
http://amorpha.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-do-you-mean-by-soon.html
As you can see, there is far more here than you could ever digest, and
our trying to have a discussion in the context of your incapacity and
density would be futile. I'm not up for it, and I'm insanely busy right
now.
My response:
Well I've taken the challenge. I've broken it down and am ready to respond. In fact, I've got 9 rebuttals ready for you. Don't worry I won't give it to you all at one time. That's not how discussion takes place. I don't make speeches. We have plenty of time to take it one point at a time. You keep saying that you don't have time. We know that's not true because you have plenty of time to write political emails that nobody gives a crap about.
On to your blog post. First a couple of general comments. The first thing that I noticed is that there are no footnotes. No sources. Where did these opinions come from? You tell me you that you don't like it when I send you blind links in my emails. You are also critical about books that I give to you because you don't like the format of the bibliography notes. Maybe you should give your readers the same courtesy. What are your sources?
If you are going to write about Jesus Christ, shouldn't you do the research and find out what those who know Him believe? It's no wonder that you can't find God. Maybe you're looking in the wrong places.
What's obvious is that this is a very weak attempt to paint Jesus as a failed prophet. It reads like a fairy tale. Obviously not true. Jesus was truly the Son of God, both human and divine, with one mission. To suffer and die for our sins so that we may have eternal life with Him and His Father in heaven. That is what I will try to prove.
Mike said the following...
Interestingly, the notion of Jesus' return has undergone considerable revision and theological development over the centuries, but particularly in the first hundred years or so. It's fascinating to examine that development. As we do so, never forget that Jesus was a Jew, and that his public ministry was among and to fellow Jews. Jesus proclaimed a very Jewish message: that the end of time was near, the kingdom of God was at hand, and so time was short for Jews to repent and get right with God. Because of this teaching, many scholars view Jesus as a Jewish "apocalyptic prophet."
On this matter there are endless opportunities for confusion among modern day Christians who, after all, are not Jews, and who would not necessarily understand the first century Jewish context in which Jesus taught. It's really easy for Christians to misunderstand certain formulations they encounter while reading the New Testament.
There are also opportunities for modern day atheists who don't know how to interpret the Bible to be confused. It's really easy for atheists to misunderstand certain formulations they encounter while reading the New Testament. That's why we should let the experts interpret the Bible for us, and be careful when we read bull crap from armchair atheists. Jesus Christ started a Church, One Church, and gave that One True Catholic and Apostolic Church the sole authority to interpret His word. When others such as Mike Brennan attempt to interpret the Bible, you end up with 40,000 different interpretations of His word such as this fairy tale that he has given us. Jesus Christ didn't want 40,000 different interpretations of His word. He wanted one. Nowhere do the scriptures give Mike Brennan the authority to interpret the Bible.
The Bible makes it clear that we need help in understanding scripture. Peter tells us that the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction.
2 Peter 3:16
So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures.
He goes on to tell us that scripture is not a matter of one's own interpretation.
2 Peter 1:20
20 First of all you must understand this, that no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation,
That's why I show you my sources, something that you fail to do. Those aren't my own interpretation. Where do you get your interpretations?
Here the Ethiopian tells Phillip that he needs help in understanding scripture.
Acts 8:27-31
26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south[g] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him.
And finally, Paul tells that we should look to the church for assistance.
1 Corinthians 12:28
28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers; then deeds of power, then gifts of healing, forms of assistance, forms of leadership, various kinds of tounges
Mike, your blog says that you are interested in the nature of truth.
The Church is where we find the truth!
1 Timothy 3:15
15 if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.
That's why Jesus started a church and gave that one church the authority to teach and interpret scripture. Which church is that. I can make the argument that it's the Catholic Church. But that's a discussion for another day. If you're interested in that discussion, here's the link to a video talk by Catholic apologist John Martignoni titled "One Church".
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