JerryBX

TBone, thank you for that thoughtful response. I'll need to mull it over for a while, but here are a few comments. I agree about the authors' worldviews affecting their writing. I think it even affected their behavior, as is clearly evidenced by Peter's response to the revelation of the great sheet (Acts chapter 10) "Not so Lord" So, the chronicle of the Gospels and the book of Acts shows us a set of people whose worldview was upended by the introduction of the Divine. They couldn't possibly grasp all the ramifications of that disruption at once. I think this is partly what I meant by my

Rocky, what I meant was, I respect the wisdom and the many years of disciplined study represented by those who have been contributing to this thread. Sorry if that wasn't clearly communicated. As for the nature of Jesus Christ, although I fully acknowledge the possibility that the Scripture contains flaws and contradictions, I believe that the core truths remain intact. I believe Jesus or Yeshua Messiah was and is the only begotten Son of God and that through him we have access to holy spirit, grace, mercy, and spiritual authority. So I see the Gospels as a collection of writing designed

Uh, Hi. I know this is kind of a dormant topic, but it addresses a question I've grappled with for quite a while. It came up back in 2001 during our discussions around the PFAL Review. The linear discussion ran aground in I Peter 1:23 and I spent many years struggling with this very topic. Some of the work I did mirrors the topics that have been presented here. I started with the versed in Matthew 19:16 - 25 * that are the first occurrences in the NT of the terms "eternal life", "saved", and "Kingdom of Heaven". This of course, was the method we all learned in the Way. You "work t