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The Divinity of Christ


God Conquers

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Melchisedec

[quote]I was just offering one explanation.... that He DID come back. [/quote]

He was ressurected. He did not come back as promised he would.


[quote]
One thing we can't understand doesn't overule 100 promises kept[/quote]

Like I said before, this promise encompasses many promises and is a huge part of the christian religion. Considering many wait jesus's return and he clearly did not return when he stated he would.

Edited by Melchisedec
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[quote name='Melchisedec' date='Mar 30 2005, 11:11 AM'] You forgot to include his final return, which encompasses that promise. [/quote]
That promise does not necessarily refer to the second coming. Some exegetes seem to think that this refers to the destruction of the temple.

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cmotherofpirl

This was referring to the destruction of the temple. The early christians took it literally and when the saw the signs they fled Jerusalem and escaped destruction.

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[quote name='God Conquers']LIARS are self-serving, uncharitable, self-preserving, and what they say doesn't come true. These qualities don't fit the historical Jesus... so [b]He wasn't a liar.[/b][/quote]

I don't think you can make that conclusion just because his words came true. There are other possibilities, like coincidence and other people making them true.

Therefor you haven't refuted the possibility that Jesus might have been a liar.

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God Conquers

It's personality type that I'm looking at here:

Someone who lies (about important things... like BEING GOD) comports themselves ina very particular way. They DEFINATELY will not die for their lie, because lies are self serving. If they do, they are in the Lunatic category and would portray very different characteristics.

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[quote]They DEFINATELY will not die for their lie, because lies are self serving.[/quote]

Oh, ok I see. But still you could say that death was an accident. That he's plan failed.

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Jesus did come back before that generation passed...in the Eucharist

and if Jesus was lying he could have prevented his death by coming clean when he realized he was going to die for it.

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Although I don't think GC's original post in this thread is logically sound, I would like to address the allegation that Jesus' prophecy did not come true.

This was something I investigated a while back, because I also had the same objection. My research came up with a good article from EWTN, which essentially introduced me to the concept of multiple meaning or multiple fulfillment when it comes to prophecy or scriptural interpretation. This idea is also found in the writings of Catholic apologists like Scott Hahn.

They say that a given passage of scripture can have more than one fulfillment or meaning. For example, the woman of Revelations 12 can be both Mary (giving birth to Christ) and Israel (giving birth to Christ, or the Church of Christ).

Just like throwing a stone in a pond causes multiple ripples from one stone, Jesus' words in Matthew 24:34 (and the parallels: Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32) has multiple fulfillments: Once in the Jerusalem temple (and the ushering in of the New Jerusalem, with the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist), but again in Jesus' second coming at the end of the age.

Unfortunately, EWTN's Q&A search is broken at the moment, so I can't locate the original Q&A response that addressed this issue. But I hope my brief explanation sheds at least some light on it.

I know that this line of reasoning is enough for me to make the "Jesus' propechy didn't come true" argument not hold enough water to undermine Christ's authority or divinity.

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it seems clear to me that WHENEVER Jesus uses "generation" in his speech in the Gospels,

ex:
Mt 11:16, 12:39, 12:41, 16:4, etc...
Mk 8:12, 8:38, 9:19, 13:30
Lk 1:50, 7:31, 11:51, etc.

that the quotes seem to be equally or more applicable to all men since the fall. When I read about "perverse generation" it seems just as applicable today as it did 2000 years ago.

Therefore, I would have to argue against a literalistic interpretation here. (Here you're talking about someone who loves to take things literally, too :) )

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Melchisedec

[quote name='Pistos' date='Mar 31 2005, 12:33 PM'] Although I don't think GC's original post in this thread is logically sound, I would like to address the allegation that Jesus' prophecy did not come true.

This was something I investigated a while back, because I also had the same objection. My research came up with a good article from EWTN, which essentially introduced me to the concept of multiple meaning or multiple fulfillment when it comes to prophecy or scriptural interpretation. This idea is also found in the writings of Catholic apologists like Scott Hahn.

They say that a given passage of scripture can have more than one fulfillment or meaning. For example, the woman of Revelations 12 can be both Mary (giving birth to Christ) and Israel (giving birth to Christ, or the Church of Christ).

Just like throwing a stone in a pond causes multiple ripples from one stone, Jesus' words in Matthew 24:34 (and the parallels: Mark 13:30; Luke 21:32) has multiple fulfillments: Once in the Jerusalem temple (and the ushering in of the New Jerusalem, with the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist), but again in Jesus' second coming at the end of the age.

Unfortunately, EWTN's Q&A search is broken at the moment, so I can't locate the original Q&A response that addressed this issue. But I hope my brief explanation sheds at least some light on it.

I know that this line of reasoning is enough for me to make the "Jesus' propechy didn't come true" argument not hold enough water to undermine Christ's authority or divinity. [/quote]
Your argument seems nothing but conjecture.

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Those who attempt to explain away Matthew 24:34 with creative twisting of the meaning of the term "generation" are perpetuating the Protestant dispensationalist distortions of C.I. Scofield.

Those who attempt to apply Matthew 24:34 to the Israeli state which was founded in 1948 and our present generation are perpetuating the "Rapture" myth of Hal Lindsay and various other Protestant evangelical kooks.

Matthew 24:34 was fulfilled with the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70AD.

Edited by james
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Melchisedec: I don't think it is unreasonable for you to consider the "this generation" prophecy sufficient basis to believe Jesus is a liar. At the same time, I do not find your arguments sufficient basis to dissuade me from my position. I think the multiple fulfillments idea is not unreasonable, especially when other parts of Scripture exhibit it.

If I were [still] atheist, Matthew 24:34 would be enough reason for me, too.

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Thy Geekdom Come

[quote name='Melchisedec' date='Mar 30 2005, 12:02 PM']
[i]
Matthew 24:34.

Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
[/i]

His generation passed. I consider that a lie. [/quote]
The word for "generation" also means "age" or "era"...nice try.

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