Interests:I like...stuff, I guess. Don't have much of an answer for this yet...get back to me in 6 months. Expertise:Expertise? ummm I am good at introspection, even though I mostly never get past that. Occupation:Other Industry:Education/Research
First off, I want to make it known that I believe the Bible to be inerrant and the inspired Word of God. I don't budge on this point. It's a whole other argument, and discussion in itself.
Second all, I want to briefly touch on the difference between Wisdom and Morality. Morality is black and white (for the most part, and the sake of our argument). It is wrong to lie, It is wrong to kill, it is right to love God, it is right to stand up for your faith, etc. Wisdom is about what is better to do, ie what is the wise decision. Wisdom may dictate that you shouldn't allow yourself to surf the web alone with no accountability. But is it WRONG to surf the web like that? No. (you may disagree with me here, but thats another argument as well) Is it Wise to smoke (pipes, cigars, cigarettes) no, it isn't. But is it wrong? no. Is it wise to eat junk food? no, not really. But is it wrong? Absolutely not. Basically. Just because something is unwise, doesn't make it a sin, ie a morality issue. The reverse is likely true though, if something is wrong, it is always unwise.
"A sinner is always a fool, but a fool is not always a sinner"
That being said, Proverbs, in general, is a book of Wisdom. It isn't intended to be a covenant or a set of commandments. There are some obvious Wisdom statements in there that deal directly with morality (ie. Stay away from whores) but others that don't necessarily (ie. don't pierce your body). When dealing with a specific passage, that's where the debate comes in. But Proverbs should not be used as an end all be all argument for morality. As in the case of the issue of Spanking. Just because Proverbs suggests that sparing the rod is a bad idea, doesn't necessarily mean that sparing the rod is a sin. With that in mind, it becomes more of an argument of what is the best thing to do, not necessarily what is the right/wrong thing to do.
Also, assuming that it IS more of a command than a issue of wisdom, even then, it is debatable what "the rod" means here. It could easily be argued that the author is referencing systematic discipline in general and uses the term "rod" as it would be a culturally accepted term at the time. I am not saying I 100% agree with that argument but it has validity.
So that is my view, very briefly on the book of Proverbs. I hope I didn't bore you, and if you have any response thoughts I would welcome them.
I found a new social networking site that I actually like called www.goodreads.com . It basically looks sorta like Face Book, and the format is quite similar...except its all about books. You can rate, review and read about just about any book ever on there. You can create your own "bookshelves" of books you have read, or want to read. You have friends on there and can suggest books to them, or check out their ratings and reviews. It's quite neat. There is even a status update part that you can list which books you are reading, and what page you are on and a brief thought.
So far, I have enjoyed it, and have even found several books I didn't know were out and now need to read! I invited a bunch of you to join as well, so I can make fun of your reading habits, but if you didn't get an invite and that sounds interesting to you, go to their site and sign up.
here is a quote from CS Lewis from his book Perelandra that harkens somewhat back to that blog I sent out to you guys, previously:
"As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you may still hope that the good may come to your rescue. But suppose you struggle through to the good and find that it is also dreadful? ...Then, indeed, there is no rescue possible: the last card has been played."
The character is reacting to his his first meeting with an Eldil (an ethereal being likened to an angel) and he was suddenly afraid of it despite knowing it was good. I find this interesting in the sense that the character here is finding good and still being scared by it, as illustrated by this quote:
"My fear was now of another kind. I felt sure that the creature was what we call "good," but I wasn't sure whether I liked, "goodness" so much as I had supposed."
This seems to be a strong parallel with how many Christians our age are responding to God and the Church and anything Christian... you know it is "good" but you are not so sure you like "goodness" any more! It really is terrifying. Especially when you take into consideration that we know God never changes, yet we are a fickle and ever changing species. Your heart tells you one thing but your understanding of God, and the Bible, presumably, tells you something different. heh, then again the Bible also explains your heart as being decietfully wicket above all things. Hmm.
further quote:
"Here at last was a bit of that world from beyond the world, which I had always supposed that I loved and desired, breaking through and appearing to my senses: and I didn't like it, I wanted it to go away. I wanted every possible distance, gulf, curtain, blanket, and barrier to be placed between it and me. But I did not fall quite into that gulf."
Ugh, how I can relate to that feeling. How long have we been taught what we believe, and now sometimes when I am faced with it, I shirk it in shame. I want it to go away, I hope I don't have to make account in front of someone who might embarass me.
He finishes that section with one little quote:
"Oddly, my very sense of helplessness saved me and steadied me. For now, I was quite obviously "drawn in". The next decision did not lie with me."
In the story, another character comes and acts as a sort of ambassador between him and this being. In life... we realize that maybe we aren't perfect and maybe we are going to sometimes find ourselves not "liking" good. As terrifying as that is, luckily the next step isn't always ours.
