tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post285179012423404715..comments2024-03-22T16:09:48.895-04:00Comments on Beggars All: Reformation And Apologetics: Calvin: "There have been certain strange folk who have wished to suggest from this passage [Matt 1:25] that the Virgin Mary had other children..."James Swanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16136781934797867593noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-61951235858875467722014-10-19T15:46:19.679-04:002014-10-19T15:46:19.679-04:00Guy, I am starting to feel sorry for you. There ar...Guy, I am starting to feel sorry for you. There are so many things that have "salvific significance". This is what happens when salvation comes from something other than trusting and confessing Christ. Why would now this word from the cross throw my salvation into question? There are so many ways to lay burdens on people's consciences. There are so many ways of robbing people of the "salvific significance" of the cross itself. Guy, Christ died also for all of your sins, for all the ways you have not kept the law, in word or deed, to thought, as well as things left undone. And he never mandated you to go through Mary, the Saints departed, nor did he demand acts of super rogation. This is all man made stuff. Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-28147975660646461652014-10-18T08:48:07.181-04:002014-10-18T08:48:07.181-04:00I am not a Calvinist, and I don 't just isolat...I am not a Calvinist, and I don 't just isolate one text from another. Scripture interprets scripture. <br /><br />There is only one Jesus, and you can take his corpus of sermons and sayings together and you can ponder what he meant. He often tried to just make people think.<br /><br />If you think Mary was sinless, listen to Paul's words again in Romans 3<br />“There is no one righteous, not even one;<br />11 there is no one who understands;<br /> there is no one who seeks God.<br />12 All have turned away,<br /> they have together become worthless;<br />there is no one who does good,<br /> not even one.”[b]<br />13 “Their throats are open graves;<br /> their tongues practice deceit.”[c]<br />“The poison of vipers is on their lips.”[d]<br />14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.”[e]<br />15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;<br />16 ruin and misery mark their ways,<br />17 and the way of peace they do not know.”[f]<br />18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”<br /><br />If Mary needed a Savior, she needed a Redeemer, as the words are synonymous.<br />Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-3359825508402114352014-10-17T23:30:02.781-04:002014-10-17T23:30:02.781-04:00And for Guy, there is a long section involving the...And for Guy, there is a long section involving the subject of: "It is better to marry than to burn" (1 Corinthians). He goes through the history of men emasculating themselves and the Pope forbidding it. Anyone who was going to do it, would not be fit for church vocation. And so on. And to be honest, in my gut feeling, I have to say, it was not expected of Joseph either.<br /><br />He mentions the boy Jesus going to the temple three times a year. This was expected for the first-born male. Hence, if there were children, they might not all have travelled every time. ( -- just saying because Guy brought it up.)Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-44883727272742635212014-10-17T21:34:32.610-04:002014-10-17T21:34:32.610-04:00I got started on it. It blasts out of the gate on...I got started on it. It blasts out of the gate on marriage and divorce. He says some unflattering things about Muslim "marriage", the kind of thing we have heard elsewhere from him.Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-6688839723173793392014-10-17T19:20:04.841-04:002014-10-17T19:20:04.841-04:00I haven't had a chance to read the Matthew com...I haven't had a chance to read the Matthew commentary yet. What I have done though is sift through some of my older blog posts to see if I cited this recently translated material. James Swanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136781934797867593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-80868763398817386282014-10-17T17:03:45.995-04:002014-10-17T17:03:45.995-04:00Christ told the Rich Young Ruler that if he wanted...Christ told the Rich Young Ruler that if he wanted to go further than merely keeping the law, doing the minimum, he could sell all and follow Him. The Law nowhere demands vows of poverty, chastity or obedience, what are called the Evangelical Counsels.<br /><br /><br />Guy, no where in the Bible is keeping the moral law called "doing the minimum." Everywhere and at all times people have trouble keeping it. See the entire Old Testament, and search your own heart. Jesus explained in the Sermon on the Mount how we fail to keep the law from the heart.<br /><br />Adding to the burden with vows of chastity, etc. has driven many a man and woman away from the church in despair. Adding burdens is not something Christ came to do (my burden is light). Christ's burden is light because through the forgiveness of sins we can follow him joyfully from the heart. Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-7642567832974078912014-10-17T16:54:48.001-04:002014-10-17T16:54:48.001-04:00Hey, James! The Sermons on Matthew came!
Guy, it...Hey, James! The Sermons on Matthew came!<br /><br />Guy, it sounds to me like you don't understand your Bible nor why Christ came and had to die, nor the true humility of Mary, for which we can truly love her as a fellow redeemed through the Son.<br /><br />The young man should have realized that he was in need of Savior, and not keeping the law, as he thought he was. He is one looking to his own righteousness thinking that he has kept the law. He wants to do even more to save himself, as if that were possible. Jesus takes that line of thinking to the end for him, and he sees that it does not work for him. But to rely solely on Jesus was not what he wanted either, as we can see.<br /><br />Again, contrast Mary's humility to his hubris. Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-59481277202054552442014-10-16T19:14:53.941-04:002014-10-16T19:14:53.941-04:00Guy, the Lutheran church confesses Mary, the Theot...Guy, the Lutheran church confesses Mary, the Theotokos, that Christ is Lord, the Apostles, Nicene and Athanasian creed. It is not a feuding, contradictory church, not any more or less than those who have more liberal or conservative views ( note the strife and discussion at your current synod). If anyone has picked a fight, it is the RC church with those who were the prophets in its midst. It should repent.<br /><br />The point that a consecrated life, so to speak, is more holy, is just what does not work for me, a faithful, married woman. The reformation taught us to take our humble daily callings seriously, and serve our neighbor in them. Whether Mary was a perpetual virgin or a faithful wife does not make her more or less holy, especially since it is Christ's righteousness that makes us holy. Mary, herself, would have no other holiness, if you tried to attribute it to her. She would decline it. See her own words of praise in the Magnificat.Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-20520103085984747222014-10-16T17:01:36.984-04:002014-10-16T17:01:36.984-04:00When Mary and Joseph took 12 year old Jesus up to ...<b> When Mary and Joseph took 12 year old Jesus up to Jerusalem, we see no mention of younger brothers and sisters, right?</b><br /><br />A fair question, though this argument also cuts against the Epiphanian view that James, Joses, Simon, and three or more sisters were the naturally born children of Joseph and a wife prior to Mary. <br /><br />A further issue for this view is the question of where were the children from Joseph's previous marriage when Mary & Joseph fled to Egypt with Jesus (Mt. 2:13)?<br /><br /><b>The word "brother" can mean any male relative.</b> <br /><br />This is true to the extent that the usage <i>in context</i> warrants that interpretation. Are you claiming that no usage of the term adelphos in the Bible can be known for certain?EAhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03649331234241764065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-85250835344139121482014-10-16T11:59:38.174-04:002014-10-16T11:59:38.174-04:00ut as James has promised to write a piece on why P...<i>ut as James has promised to write a piece on why Protestants are so adamant on Mary not being a Perpetual Virgin this week, the ball is in his court and I will wait before going any further</i><br /><br />I recall saying I'd offer some comments, but I doubt I'll do a blog post. Super busy this week. This particular entry on Calvin & Staples took quite a few days to put together because of my schedule. I put it together 10 minutes at time over a few days. James Swanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136781934797867593noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-33225239936024189602014-10-15T21:23:52.227-04:002014-10-15T21:23:52.227-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.Henry Scott Althttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15360459032299884184noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19795707.post-62390611347129383292014-10-15T20:30:08.046-04:002014-10-15T20:30:08.046-04:00Calvin I can't speak for, but with Luther we a...Calvin I can't speak for, but with Luther we always have the pastoral concern for those who hold their pious opinions and can't change so fast, taking into consideration their weaknesses and scruples. Mary's so-called perpetual verginity, not attested to in the authoritative writings, should not even be an item of discussion at this point. Personally speaking, the fact that we hear about brothers, though that can be a vague or metaphorical term, makes me think that Mary's perpetual virginity was NOT something someone was trying to vigorously assert. I don't much care about what Luther, Calvin or any Pope had to say about it. It seems that Calvin was trying to sit on the fence. In this matter, it seems to me to be a safe place to sit. <br /><br /> As for me, I can't see scripture promoting the view of the perpetual virginity. I think we are safest to just say that. And in addition, I think it is none of our business. If we care about Christian unity and want to be apologists for the faith, I think we would be better off refraining from having a hardened opinion or doctrine here.Brigittehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10259491144770243688noreply@blogger.com