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H. Richard, It is fine if you hold that opinion, but you need to be aware that there is pretty much no Christian scholar who would make this argument. This letter has always been understood throughout church history to be directed to Christians. The assigning of 12 Apostles by Jesus make it...

So, I am trying to follow this thread but it is a little confusing and I need some clarification. Is the issue whether it is okay to translate adelphoi as "brothers and sisters" or is the issue whether it is appropriate for women to be preachers and elders in a local congregation? I think...

I think you are misunderstanding the different concepts of "authority" and what that means. A local pastor has the "authority" to teach the Bible as they want and express ideas they think the Bible conveys. A local pastor does not have the authority to establish new inspired truth or...

Yes, I figured as much. Just wanted to be clear that my contention is not with what you are proposing, but mj. I think his ideas are incredibly dangerous and is the mindset behind most cult leaders.

Barrd, I would not discount that at all. I have had similar experiences. I do think God interacts with us in unique ways to affirm his love for us and presence with us as we go through challenges in life. I am not even discounting the idea that He would provide insight as to what to do in...

I appreciate what you wrote, Barrd, but I am not in complete agreement. Yes, we know the Lord as Christians. Our knowledge is one that is intimate and His Spirit testifies to our spirits that we are His children. We know his love, his acceptance and his forgiveness through the Spirit and know...

"The righteous will live by faith." It does not say "the righteous will live by inner voices." We believe what God has said. We are called to meditate on and appropriately divide God's word and are warned about teachers who would twist it and misuse it. The debates and divisiveness about the...

I dont think you are following me at all, Tom. I didnt say each church can teach what they want, nor can the RCC teach what they want. The heirarchy of the early church was formed to pass down the TRUTH of the Apostles teaching. Local authority does not mean absolute authority any more than...

Richard, the point here is that you are saying the Gentiles are not considered part of the "tribes" referenced in James' letter. We are trying to show you how the early Christians understood the Church and that the Gentiles who had faith in the Messiah were considered part of the "tribes" of...

justaname, Blessings brother. Thank you for your response. I pray also that God blesses your year as well. I appreciate your eagerness to explore this and be open to other ideas. I also are more than willing to be shaped in my understanding on this issue. I probably do not sound as...

Yes, I agree there are different authortative positions in the church. My point was that there is no indication in the NT that these roles had authority over multiple local congregations. Elders were appointed over the local congregation and other than the foundational teaching of the...

The wild branch does become like the originals. As Paul says very plainly, "In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile..." Why would you erect boundaries that Christ has broken down?

ATP, this is not the topic of this thread. Let's not derail it.

The vine imagery is an illustration, not an allegory. An allegory is when someone provides a spiritual meaning to a text that may or may not be apparent. For instance, Augustine allegorized the parable of the Good Samaritan and said things like the Samaritan = Jesus Christ, the donkey = the...

StanJ, I think this is a good example of when to shake the dust off your shoes and stop casting pearls. :popcorn:

In a Sunday School class a statement made by James in the book of James was referenced. Sorry, I dont have time to read through the entire conversation, so I apologize if some of this is redundant. 1. James is writing to Christians. Gentiles who put faith in the Messiah, Jesus, are...

The NT epistles were written to churches! Jesus was telling the Apostles to abide in him in John 15. These are unbelievers? Moreover, you dont tell an unbeliever to "abide" or to watch out lest they be "cut off" or "fall away." No, you tell them to believe, join, accept, etc. Romans...

Ok, so they are falling away from nothing. "Be careful lest you fall away from nothing and lose the root of salvation you dont really have. Be careful lest you get cut off from the one to whom you really arent attached. Watch out lest your name blotted from the book of life...in which it...

Tom, The term "church" is ekklesia. This is a basic Greek word that can be translated as community, assembly, congregation, gathering and so forth. My point I have been trying to make is that we see no heirarchy for the universal church in the New Testament. We see a people defined by a...

Grace comes through faith. Faith is something we possess (or do not). Jesus did not die to excuse faithlessness, or else the whole world would be saved. The idea that God somehow prevents people from being able to disbelieve once they have had a moment of faith is just not biblical. There is...