From: rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts)
Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc
Subject: Re: they have eyes yet they do not see, was (I'm God) [340+ LINES]
Date: 16 Oct 92 15:27:25 GMT
Organization: CERL-EE, Georgia Institue of Technology

In article <fTXnckL@quack.sac.ca.us> pharvey@quack.sac.ca.us (Paul Harvey) writes:
|In article <71084@hydra.gatech.EDU> 
|rpitts@emperor.gatech.edu (Richard Pitts) writes:
|>Be specific.
|Richard, there are a few too many to post here and you know it. You've
|been reading t.r.m for awhile now and should be aware of the
|discrepancies. I think a few verses of Job will be sufficient to point
|them out, I await your favorites. On the other hand, why not start out
|in the very begining so to speak:
|
|KJV:Genesis1:1: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
|JPS:Genesis1:1: When God began to create heaven and earth -
|
|It's subtle in this case but it does make a difference don't you think?
|And this is the very first verse, it's largely downhill from here.

Downhill.  I'm not sure what you think is the great revelation you
have given here in this example.  Oh, I thought you try and shame
those who use the KJV, but here you use it as your example.

|Why not look at the last verse of the OT:
|
|KJV:Malachi4:6: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the
|children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come
|and smite the earth with a curse.
|JPS:Malachi3:24: He shall reconcile parents with children and children
|with their parents, so that, when I come, I do not strike the whole land
|with utter destruction.

Malachi 4:6 (NIV)   He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, 
and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and 
strike the land with a curse." 

And your point is??????

...
|No, the reason is they were no longer following Judaism. In Judaism, all
|children learn Biblical Hebrew and they read and recite the scriptures
|in the original Hebrew thus avoiding the translation problems. This was
|the case almost everywhere Hebrews went who where still practicing
|Judaism, despite using other languages in everyday life. Hebrew is the
|language of Judaism, not any local language. This is why the center of
|Judaism was in Babylon at this time. The Hellenistic Jews largely spoke
|Aramaic and used Greek as the written language. They were out of touch

Is the language one speaks and writes a restriction to knowing God's will???

|with Hebrew, thus the need for the Septuagint, and they no longer
|adhered to the Mosaic Law, thus the need for a new covenant. Strangely,

A new covenant was predicted (OT), as I've already cited in another post.

|Christianity wasn't a big hit with the Hellenistic Jews who drifted
|towards other religions or rediscovered Judaism. Judaism was kept alive
|in Babylon, not Roman Palestine. Judaism survived in exile, largely
|unknown to the Christians.

Are you referring to before or after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD?

...
|Babylonian Jewry was well aware of the former land of Israel, but
|Christianity was not very aware of the existance of the center of
|Judaism, in exile, in Babylon. The early Christians weren't scholars,
|the keepers of Judaism were.

Paul claimed to be a well educated and a Hebrew of Hebrews.

|>|the way of truth. Are you seeking truth, or ignorance, Richard?
|>I seek the Truth and it has been revealed to me, but not to me alone
|>and it is available to all who believe.
|
|Are you saying there is nothing else for you to learn, to know?

No.  But what is need for a relationship to God is clearly made know.

|>|You sound like an authentic person leading an inauthentic life. I
|>|thought you were seeking the truth. How have you been misled?
|>I do seek the Truth, how do you know your own personal ability 
|>and pride has not misled you?
|
|I don't.

Good to hear that you aren't over sold on your own ability/understanding.

|>|>Don't let it be said of you that you never understood, but just heard.
|>|>Open you heart up to Jesus the Christ - humble yourself and he will 
|>|>exalt you.
|>|If you seek truth, seek truth. Learn from dogma but please do not become
|>|dogmatic.
|>If one believes what we Christians believe, would you expect us to be any
|>less dogmatic?
|
|I don't see a direct relationship between Christians and dogmatics, well
|other then it just happens to turn out that dogmaticism does seem to be
|more prevalent amongst Christians, but I don't see a fundamental reason
|why that has to be the case. Certainly one does not have to be Christian
|to be dogmatic and being a Christian does not mean one is dogmatic. Look
|the word up in a dictionary, it's a good one and I don't know that I can
|explain it.

It it our dogmatism with respect to our knowledge of what God has revealed
to us (and the whole world) that you question?  Or is it something else
our strong convictions address?

For Christ and His Kingdom,
Richard Pitts


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