I seem have entered into a card playing motif here. Odd, in that I don’t play cards!
Nevertheless, I’ve tried reading the debate over here. I’ve really tried. Matt+ and Dan and the rest are really really smart people. They really know all the stuff. Greek, History, Tactics of debate and presentation. Reading their argument makes my head hurt.
I am reminded of once visiting the research branch of the company I worked for, and one secretary was walking a new hire around giving her a tour of the place, an introduction to what it was like to work there, and she said something along the lines of “Honey, there’s some really really intelligent people here, but they’s stupid”.
Dan and Matt and Göran and all the rest are really smart people. They have great intelligence, great intellectual gifts. And yet, and yet, I just don’t picture Jesus arguing this way, finding the loopholes and intellectual arguments that make his case. Does Jesus say “Well, yes the law does say to stone this woman, but there’s a small parenthetical remark that the Rabbi from Bethlehem has made that in fact forbids this action” or “In order to understand stoning we need to review it’s use in the public square 37 years ago”?
Micah 6:8 tells me more about what is required of my Christian journey.
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?
Seems like all the argument that I need. How about you?
Monday morning update: One additional thought occurred to me, and I’m sure it isn’t original, deep, or even probably correct, but why do we care what Paul said in every instance? Is Paul infallable? Maybe, just maybe he blew it. Didn’t know what he was talking about. Oh, I’m not talking in general. In general he’s spot on, but do we believe that every utterance from Paul is a golden nugget?
This is the true value in being an old dog, you get to simplify any and everything to a dog’s level! As I keep telling Mrs. Clumber, Jesus didn’t seek out people with PhD’s, he sought people who were common, in the best sense of the word. The people with all the education and training were missing the simple truths. Well, that’s it for today, back to the couch for a nap now. Maybe a dog biscuit or two later on. A dog’s life is pretty sweet!
One further Monday update, from the book Hidden in Plain Sight, by Mark Buchanan:
Smartness is a small accomplishment if you’re deficient in goodness. A big head on a small soul is ugly as an orc.
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