The Absoluteness of God's Law. (translation, church, prophet, priests)

[ovcatto]

This seems to be a recurring theme amongst some theist, God's law is immutable. Well, if that were the case, why must God's law be interpreted through ministers, imans, rabbis, or priests? Why do theist reshape those laws over time, rejecting some and holding on to others?

[kdbrich]

Originally Posted by ovcatto

This seems to be a recurring theme amongst some theist, God's law is immutable. Well, if that were the case, why must God's law be interpreted through ministers, imans, rabbis, or priests? Why do theist reshape those laws over time, rejecting some and holding on to others?

For starters, I don't read Hebrew, Aramaic, or Koine Greek.

[ovcatto]

Originally Posted by kdbrich

For starters, I don't read Hebrew, Aramaic, or Koine Greek.

Well, I think that's a problem because I don't think that most "ministers" do either.

[kdbrich]

Originally Posted by ovcatto

Well, I think that's a problem because I don't think that most "ministers" do either.

I am actually learning Greek this next school year and next year...so I will be able to read it.

Having said that, I don't see an issue with having a teacher that is more knowledgeable of the culture, the history, the language, etc.

[LogicIsYourFriend]

But why does God rely on fallible people to proclaim his absolute law, when it is obvious there will be mistakes in translation?

[kdbrich]

Originally Posted by LogicIsYourFriend

But why does God rely on fallible people to proclaim his absolute law, when it is obvious there will be mistakes in translation?

I have no idea. He could have used the rocks to cry out but he chose to use men.

It's humbling, actually.

[LogicIsYourFriend]

Originally Posted by kdbrich

I have no idea. He could have used the rocks to cry out but he chose to use men.

It's humbling, actually.

Men.. the only place it could have come from if it was made up.

[nick.leviman]

In the movie Religulous, Bill mentioned that for some reason, God(s) always choose the "middleman" (prophet). Why wouldn't He say it aloud to everybody?

[KCfromNC]

Any good businessman knows you never compete with your distributors by undercutting them with direct sales to the end user. Instead you focus on R&D and let the middle-men do the selling and customer support since that's what they're good at.

If Jesus had been around in the 1980s, he might have followed visionaries like Micheal Dell and went for a direct marketing approach instead. The infrastructure in the middle east 2000 years ago wasn't conducive to phone and internet sales, so the church like so many other organizations is just a product of its time. Despite this, they're not doing that poorly for themselves, no pun intended.

[ovcatto]

Originally Posted by kdbrich

I am actually learning Greek this next school year and next year...so I will be able to read it.

You are going to need more than a working knowledge of Greek to be able to "read" the scriptures. Nothing personal, but scholars in not only Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic languages but customs and traditions of those who wrote the scriptures, have spent their entire careers trying to not only translate the original text but also to divine their meaning.

Take for example, do you translate the 6th Commandment as being, "Thou shall not kill" or "thou shall not murder," What does that mean when applied in a real world.?

The immutable law advocates would argue that the commandment covers the "killing" of an unborn, yet taking of innocent life when it is "collateral damage" isn't. If you condemn an prisoner to death only to later find that he was innocent would that be a violation of God's law? And if such a possibility existed, wouldn't it behoove theist to abolish the death penalty?

So, who decides what God's law means, men? If the answer is the latter, then how is God's law any less capricious than the morality of secularist who derive their moral ethics from rational examination? Where is the assuredness of religiously formulated morality if it must be interpreted through the fallible eyes of man to begin with?