The Septuagint or the Hebrew Text, Which Should Christians Choose? (page 2)

Nate Merit

Hi Leolaia

Hehehe. You caught me. This is far better than I had expected!

Thanks for the posts!

Nathan

Nate Merit

Hi Joseph

My 'dogmatism' did as it was supposed to do. Churn up some excellent discussion. Much better than what I'm becoming accustomed to reading on this board.

Namaste.
Nathan

Hi Midget Sasquatch

Great icon and screen name. I'm a very hairy dude myself, except where I would most like the hair to be. On my glistening cranium.

Thanks for the post.

Nathan

"The purpose of life is to give life purpose, just as the meaning of life is to give life meaning." - Sumdumgi

Narkissos

Nate,

I would have voiced a few objections to your 1996 article (most of them already made by Leolaia and Midget-Sasquatch). But as you have obviously moved on quite a bit since, I will just make a generic remark on the notion of "advancement" (especially as [mis-]understood by JosephMalik).

History of thought, concepts, beliefs, traditions and texts, is not linear. It is neither ascending (as in "progress") or descending (as in "decadence"). Different streams attract or repel each other, merge or separate all the time. There is no more truth or depth in the beginning or in the end of any segment of the process than anywhere along the course. Each stage is to be studied and assessed for itself, synchronically, keeping in mind that it is just a moment and spot we arbitrarily isolate in an ongoing diachronical and worldwide process. The LXX is one interesting "shot" in the movie. The NT is another. The Nag Hammadi texts are still another. And each one of those "shots" can be broken down into a number of equally interesting "close-ups" by textual and literary criticism.

What, then, of the authority of scripture? For so-called "orthodox" Christians it implies dogmatic belief in a once for all unchanging picture: a closed canon, internally hierarchised by the concept of "progressive revelation" (the epistle to the Romans is deemed "better" than Leviticus, for instance) and artificially isolated from upstream external influences and downstream interpretations. It only seems objective at the much too high cost of circular reasoning.

To me the only working authority of scripture, as we developed on another thread, is in the reader's eyes. It is subjective. It is what you find overwhelmingly inspiring and helpful. That which speaks to you, no matter where it happens to come from.

Nate Merit

To me the only working authority of scripture, as we developed on another thread, is in the reader's eyes. It is subjective. It is what you find overwhelmingly inspiring and helpful. That which speaks to you, no matter where it happens to come from.Hello Narkissos!

What an excellent post! I've cut and pasted it and stored it on my computer. Very succinct and powerful and I couldn't agree more. Your closing statement, reproduced above, is spot-on as well.

I'm adding your last statement to my list of inspiring/meaningful quotations.

Yours in divine subjectivity,

Nate

Nate Merit

The subjectivity of my own method is why I don't really care how a person interprets the Bible or any other 'scripture.' What I really care about is whether or not a person's hermeneutics cause them to try and force their method upon me and my loved ones. In any manner. Particularly via political pressure as the religious right does.

Ciao 4 Niao
Nate

JosephMalik

My 'dogmatism' did as it was supposed to do. Churn up some excellent discussion.
Nate Merit, Well that is not difficult to do here. But there is a difference in my case. In your case you said: (My opinion is that the Bible is a collection of Mythology, so I am do not have anything of myself invested in the issue) But I have another view that supports the Bible as an instructional document intended to educate, guide and advance mankind. And all this in spite of all the difficulties I outlined in its compilation, translaton and interpretation. The very complexities that lead to the multitude of interpretations we see today also protected the document over the years from excessive alteration that would have rendered it useless. While you are free to say whatever you like, (as is Narkissos) I am not and must stay within what I perceive as the instructions imbedded in it and intended for us today. Joseph

Abaddon

Hmph.

All this does to me is prove how religious traditions mutate through successive generations.

That is the crux of my thesis.

I think you mean hypothesis, and that is all ANYONE can claim. Quite how people can link an idea of a fair god's word to mankind to something that can only rest in the realm of speculative hypothesis rather than demonstrable theory, I don't know, but you'all have fun with intractable logical conundrums that if anything make god a petty little tw*t, I'm gonna bed...

Nate Merit

Hey Abaddon

If'n ya'll take a minit ta reed mah RE plies tuh mah re-SPON-dints ya'll jus mite git wher ah's a comin frum. Heha. Yuppers. Wail, its tym ta git mah gun n shoot dinner.

ciao 4 niao
nate

Nate Merit

Joseph, it's all right to address me as Nate.

My attitude about life and religion and whatnot is to have fun. If your religion pisses on the candle of your life...

Have fun Jehovah-Will-Add !
Nate

The Septuagint or the Hebrew Text, Which Should Christians Choose?

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