" I believe that the Bible alone is the answer to all our questions and that to receive an answer from it, we only need to ask with persistence and a little courage."
"Faith does not depend on dead letters but on the living Lord, who places himself before us as on whose commanding word transcends all doubts about the Bible and its stories."
From Reflections on the Bible, by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, pages 2 and 67, respectively.
And so it is with me as it was with young Samuel; I say, "Speak, for your servant hears." (1 Samuel 3:10)
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...
21 comments:
Bonhoeffer is admired by people I respect, but I have never been a fan of the use of absolutes like that. The Bible alone is the answer to "all" our questions?? I was wondering where I could find some good fishing holes in Bolingbrook, but I didn't think to search the scriptures for that. And when I wanted a list of HTML codes, I didn't turn to The Book for that either.
Dietrich was a good guy. I like some of what he said and consider him to be one of the more noble figures in recent history, but this kind of talk may be too much of a stretch.
I have to say a hearty "Amen" to this!
Craver, I think Bonhoeffer is speaking the same way 2 Peter does when it says we have all things for life and godliness (or, for a godly life) through the knowledge of him who called us by his own excellence and goodness (my memory on that quote).
Witherington on Philemon 21 writes this: "An interesting and often overlooked point is that 'obey' (hypakouo) is in fact derived from 'hear' (akouo). Obedience is a matter of heedful hearing (Dunn, Colossians and Philemon, p. 345) or listening intently and then acting accordingly and appropriately." The Letters to Philemon, the Colossians, and the Ephesians, p. 86).
Bonhoeffer is a great read and was a brilliant theological mind who I believe certainly lived in the spirit of the Reformers of the Refomration. The reading of his books will challenge anyone. Start with "Life Together". "Letters and Papers in Prison." "Cost of Discipleship." Just a man but gifted and while no one person is infallible (neither is the church), all these people are ours, and I simply love Bonhoeffer whose words challenge us to see God's word in new ways in living out the will of God in Jesus in this world. He was more than a martyr.
Well, I guess I'm a little defensive about him, Craver, but I challenge you to read all of "Life Together" if nothing else. And I love "Letters and Papers in Prison".
Great quote Susan, and I say, "Amen, and amen again!"
I love both paragraphs and haven't read this before.
Yes, the Bible as God's word is our basis for faith and practice.
And yes, the second paragraph is breathtaking to me and so vital. The word of God depends on the Word of God. Our faith is in Jesus and because of that I believe in and trust this living word to us, even though so often I'm slow of heart to understand it, or get it.
Hi Craver,
The next time you are at Bolingbrook, and if you've toiled all night and haven't caught any fish, then “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4) Let me know how that works out for you.
PS: I wrote a twenty-page paper on the "Pentateuch Law Codes." You're welcome to try it with HTML if you want. :)
You guys are so funny!
Craver, I think he meant it as Ted says, in terms of all the important things that pertain to life and godliness, the things that have eternal significance.
Say for example, counseling someone about their marriage...
Yes, I think that's what he meant, too. I'm just saying that this way of phrasing things is an editing quirk of mine. By the way, my small group is currently doing a study on Bonhoeffer.
Litl-Luther, how did we go from Susan's topic to percussion instruments? (cast-a-nets) Oh, I crack myself up.
Back to Halfmom's point, it is truly amazing to see the breadth and scope of the relevance of scripture. Preexistent Biblical principals apply to many current technological, cultural, and historical situations. Nothing takes the living God by surprise.
Craver - you're such a goof - cast-a-nets and all!
:-)
Craver, that's hilarious. Of course D.B. probably meant a different sort of "all our questions". Still, I like your notes on fishing and html.
And, Susan, I like the quote in the sense that, yes, God surely speaks to many of my deepest struggles through His powerful Word. A privilege it is to have it ever near.
Craver and company,
I'm not sure why my humor doesn't come up much in my blogging, as is does strongly at times at work. But nice to have something of that all the time.
I can't even think of anything humorous to say right now, but something serious, so I'll just drop it and go on.
Ted: Your email made me laugh for some reason. Be encouraged.
Yes, it has to be spontaneous, like spontaneous combustion I suppose (I'm no scientist and can only admire science since my brain doesn't seem plugged in that way), and once the fire gets going it is hard to put out. I have to put it out for my own good at times, I think.
But yes, Lit'l Luther, I had to laugh to at last my comment!
so- its the jesus "plus" plan again. ie. the bible as interpreted by someone else.?
The bible is EVERYTHING?? yes! 100% for some camel herding desert dweller. but not for me.. not at all.
The bible has some merit for historical reference as written by jews and gentile. But really- I think we have all moved away from the fairy tale. and into the real world of science.
Luther- you make me laugh SO much... what with your raising the dead and Html and fishing...
as I said in a previous post- Aboriginals here in Aus did all that ... so what...??
sad thing is- you guys actually live life this way.. what a waste of space...
Love to do battle with you Luther.... ;o)
( oops I am after all a direct descendant of the Russell line) look them up.... I guess you would call them Satanists. BTW I LOVE prada ;o) yawn....
sad thing is- you guys actually live life this way.. what a waste of space...
Yep Simon, you're right, we do live like the Bible has all the answers we need for any question that has eternal significance - and actually, we're pretty happy that way!
Good to see you back here - we've missed you and Maalie both.
yes I thought you all needed a stir up ;o)
"( oops I am after all a direct descendant of the Russell line) look them up"
Do you mean Jehovah Witnesses?
They are not Satanists. Just wolves in sheeps clothing, and angels of light, as Satan is an angel of light.
But they genuinely believe they are the 144,000 of the Lord.
Simon,
I'm sure you caught that my statements on fishing and HTML were a joke. I'm glad I made you laugh. I wasn't joking about the raising the dead part, however. That is what happens in the spiritual realm when people come to Christ. They are brought from death to life. I believe that when I or any Christian leads someone to faith in Jesus, God is using that person to raise people from spiritual death.
I enjoy debates with you as well, Simon.
BTW: If ever my blog name fits, it is now. I even look like Martin Luther right now. Some one threw a glass at me from one floor above on Saturday; it shattered on my head. I’ve never seen so much blood. It was crazy. I had to get stitches right in the middle of my scalp, and so my head had to be shaved there. I look a bit like those pre-reformation monks or Martin Luther with my head shaved in the middle.
Goodness litl-Luther - are you ok? Randome violence - drunken thoughtlessness - or were you out inciting a riot??
No concussion? Hope you will be all healed and "fringeless" soon!
I was on my motorcycle, just a few feet from the curb on my side of the road. A motorcycle is coming toward me and one behind him came speeding up twice as fast as he should have been going. He passed the bike coming toward me, and when he did he came to my side and because of his excessive speed, he couldn’t stop and slammed into me. I didn’t get hurt from that, though he did and his bike. As is always the case, a crowd of nosy bystanders formed around us. Everyone thought I should pay for the damage—not because I was at fault, but because I am the foreigner. I refused to pay anything. The guy ran into me on my side of the road! It looked as if he was injured and his bike was still lying on its side. The crowd quickly got agitated. They began to push on me. I got hit and kicked in my mouth, the back of the head, etc. I tried to run away and someone from one floor above threw a glass down and it hit me square on the head. Blood gushed out as I ran inside the building. I’ve never seen so much blood. Drops were splashing everywhere. If you took a water bottle and began to shake it back and forth, it was like that. For a minute there I thought I was dying; the blood was coming out so fast, but after a couple minutes the flow slowed down. As I was trying to press on the wound, people outside were damaging my bike and stole my helmet, ripped the box off the back, threw it over, that sort of thing. Of, and by the way, all this happened in the presence of a cop! It was when he showed up that they began to beat on me! Some people came in the building, not to help me but to take pictures of my injuries. I guess I looked like I was dying; what a great time to take pictures! A police van showed up. The police were helpful in the sense that they tried to get the guy who hit me with the glass. They were completely unhelpful in every other regard. They had it set in their minds that I should pay for the damage—not because I was at fault. No one accused me of that, but because I am a “rich” foreigner and he is a “poor” Nepali teenager. I had asked the police to take my bike to their station to keep the crowd from burning it. It is good I did that, but with me going to get stitches and all, the bike was there overnight, at which time they (the police!) stole the gas from my tank and out of the other guy’s bike too. Moreover, they wouldn’t let me take my bike back until the other guy’s father (whose bike it actually was) was satisfied. So though the accident was 100% the other guys fault, I had to pay for the damages, which amounted to about $140. This is nothing new. You can’t imagine how many times I have heard stories like this from other foreigners. They try and take us for every rupee they can. I was told when I first came to Nepal to never stop at an accident, whether it is my fault or not. I was told you should always leave the scene. If say I had run over somebody, for instance, it wouldn’t matter if it had been my fault or if that person had darted out in front of me. The crowd would beat me to death and burn the car. That’s how it is here. There is no such thing as justice in this country. I’m doing fine, though. Actually and surprisingly, my head doesn’t hurt at all.
Crikey Luther! I hope your motorbike is ok!! and you of course
Don:- the Russell family are a well respected family in Britain. Bertrand Russell is a relo of mine ( google him) - however their line is more incideous with links to germany etc, and the iluminati as well in the USA. they are by no means JW's
Not that simple in fact. L:ook up the history. My wife did and she was disgusted..... ;o)
Now on a serious note I got a new web site for my business- you can see what I do by going to www.simoncotter.com.au
I hope you only see my comments as somthing to motivate you all! :o)
I just got my bike repaired yesterday. It's good as new now.
BTW: I uploaded pics of my injuries at my site if you are interested.
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