tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10407988.post113688436488299244..comments2023-08-05T21:48:58.831-04:00Comments on Philochristos: A facinating contradictionSam Harperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10407988.post-1136980356092933282006-01-11T07:52:00.000-04:002006-01-11T07:52:00.000-04:00Steve,I'll try to clarify my comment. Here's what...Steve,<BR/><BR/>I'll try to clarify my comment. Here's what I said: "Jesus certainly talked about the horrors of judgment more than you'd think from sitting in church your whole life without ever reading the Bible." Pay close attention to the phrase, "you'd think from..." The contraction means, "you <I>would</I> think <I>from</I>..." In other words, Jesus talked more about the horrors of judgment than you, me, or anybody <I>would</I> think <I>if</I> all you, me, or anybody did was go to church without ever reading the Bible. That doesn't say anything about whether you, me, or anybody <I>has</I> gone to church our whole lives or about whether you, me, or anybody <I>has</I> read the Bible. It just says something about what would happen if we went to church our whole life without reading the Bible.<BR/><BR/>In the <I>Freedom of the Will</I>, Edwards gives a philosophical defense of the compatibalist view of freedom. He explains thoroughly how the compatibalist view is consistent with moral accountability. You don't actually have to buy this book either. You can check it out at a library. Or, if you don't mind doing a lot of reading on the internet, the whole thing is publish on the web <A HREF="http://www.jonathanedwards.com/text/FoW/FOWOutline.htm" REL="nofollow">here</A>. If you want a sneak peek, I did a series of blogs covering parts of the book <A HREF="http://philochristos.blogspot.com/2005_05_01_philochristos_archive.html" REL="nofollow">here</A> starting with "Argument against morality from determinism, part 3," but you should probably read "the power of intuition" and parts 1 and 2 of "argument agaisnt morality from determinism" just for context. Keep in mind, though, that I'm giving my own understanding of Edwards, and it's always possible that I have misunderstood his arguments in some places.Sam Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10407988.post-1136976905147865072006-01-11T06:55:00.000-04:002006-01-11T06:55:00.000-04:00Steve,If I'm understanding you right, it sounds li...Steve,<BR/><BR/>If I'm understanding you right, it sounds like the problem you have with Edwards is not that anything he said was inconsistent with the Bible, but that he was unbalanced. He focused on some parts of the Bible (i.e. punishment) and ignored everything else.<BR/><BR/>If that's what you're saying, then I'm certain you're wrong. Edwards was very prolific, and he covered a wide range of topics. You should read his book on the <A HREF="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1589600088/qid=1136976785/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-7080019-5411143?s=books&v=glance&n=283155" REL="nofollow">Freedom of the Will</A> sometime. It will give you a completely different impression of Edwards than from reading "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God," and it will also answer a lot of the questions you've been having about Calvinism.Sam Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10407988.post-1136975322385232452006-01-11T06:28:00.000-04:002006-01-11T06:28:00.000-04:00Steve,We've talked about all this already. If the...Steve,<BR/><BR/>We've talked about all this already. If there is something unBiblical about anything Jonathan Edwards said, then quote it for us and show us that it's unBiblical.<BR/><BR/>You say that Edwards "missed the message of the Bible, which is that of salvation, not punishment." But both salvation <I>and</I> punishment are in the Bible, and Edwards didn't miss either one. Moreover, how could the Bible possibly have a message about salvation if it doesn't also have a message about what we're being saved <I>from</I>?Sam Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10407988.post-1136973432741258432006-01-11T05:57:00.000-04:002006-01-11T05:57:00.000-04:00Steve,I never said (or even thought) that you neve...Steve,<BR/><BR/>I never said (or even thought) that you never read the Bible. You simply misread what I wrote. Nor did I assume, say, or even imply that if you disagreed with Jonathan Edwards that you haven't read the Bible. So no, my deductions about what you deduced are not wrong. You said very plainly what you think I assumed, and you were wrong. I did not misread you at all.Sam Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10407988.post-1136970689081350062006-01-11T05:11:00.000-04:002006-01-11T05:11:00.000-04:00I think your deduction that I haven't read the Bib...<I>I think your deduction that I haven't read the Bible is based on the assumption your position is unassailable.</I><BR/><BR/>I think your deduction that I made any such deduction about you is based on a misreading of what I wrote.<BR/><BR/><I>If it were about anything other than religion, then I would say that belief out of fear would be DURESS, and legally that would be non-binding!</I><BR/><BR/>We've already talked about this <A HREF="http://philochristos.blogspot.com/2005/11/epistemological-and-ontological.html#comments" REL="nofollow">here</A>.Sam Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10407988.post-1136945818514019142006-01-10T22:16:00.000-04:002006-01-10T22:16:00.000-04:00I love that word, "ubiquitous."Steve, Jesus certai...I love that word, "ubiquitous."<BR/><BR/>Steve, Jesus certainly talked about the horrors of judgment more than you'd think from sitting in church your whole life without ever reading the Bible.Sam Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15884738370893218595noreply@blogger.com