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Conference lgp30::christian-perspective

Title:Discussions from a Christian Perspective
Notice:Prostitutes and tax collectors welcome!
Moderator:CSC32::J_CHRISTIE
Created:Mon Sep 17 1990
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1362
Total number of notes:61362

315.0. "Jesus sees things pretty much as black and white?" by CSC32::J_CHRISTIE (Watch your peace & cues) Wed Sep 18 1991 01:19

This Note is a spin-off from Note 34.309:

>    We need however to remember
>    that Jesus sees things pretty much as black and white,....

I have serious doubts about the validity of this statement.  What do
others believe?

Richard
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315.1more questions... :-)CARTUN::BERGGRENYeah,but what does it all *mean*?Wed Sep 18 1991 01:4513
    Hmmm.  Well, the first thing that comes to mind is that if Jesus *did* 
    see things 'pretty much as black and white', why was it that he used 
    parables, as often as he did in his teaching ministry?  
    
    Was he intentionally trying to be obscure at those times?  
    
    Was he trying perhaps to point humanity to deeper truths that mere words 
    could not/cannot convey?  
    
    Or did he use parables to honor and express his faith in each person's 
    capacity to find the truth they needed in his words...then and now?  
    
    Karen           
315.2SHALOT::LACKEYBirth...the leading cause of deathWed Sep 18 1991 11:2641
Re: .0 (Richard)

> I have serious doubts about the validity of this statement.  What do
> others believe?

I also believe you have serious doubts about this statement. :-)

"Black and white" *can* mean that the truth is perceived clearly rather 
than ambiguously.  But I think most people view it more as, "the truth 
is either this or that, but can't be both (or anything else in between)."  
In relation to the Christ I would say that the first idea is applicable, 
but not the second.

For example, the notion that upon death you either go to heaven or hell 
(using the historically held notions of these two "places") represents a 
misunderstanding of the truth.  More and more people are moving away from 
this point of view, and as a result many protestant churches have 
softened their "hellfire and brimstone" approach.

I think that the black and white view (using the more common definition 
above) by people today is the result of a strong need to clearly 
distinguish "right" from "wrong," and a separativeness which has no 
understanding of differences and says, "I am right, so anything else must 
necessarily be wrong."

A black and white viewpoint to me indicates a dependance on the "word" 
when the "spirit" isn't known or understood.  This does not mean, from my 
point of view, that people who see things as either black or white should 
be judged harshly.  I think it is a phase of human development like any 
other.  I also think that this way of viewing things is waning within 
Christianity.  There are many Christians and churchgoers who no longer 
truly believe in the black and white view of things, but they continue to 
tolerate it within the church.  Eventually one of the two must give.  
Either the people will distance themselves from the church (not 
Christianity), or the church will break up some of the old forms which 
have defined its behavior (with little change) over the centuries.  If 
the people continue to change and the churches continue to resist change, 
the current trend away from the church will continue and will inevitably 
lead to some crisis points within the church.

Jeff
315.3What is the title of this reply?TFH::KIRKa simple songWed Sep 18 1991 16:2852
315.4The Elephant is like a rope. You say a spearKARHU::TURNERThu Sep 19 1991 11:336
    Truth is not so much black or white as the reconciling of black and
    white. For example the justice and mercy of God, or how God can both
    foreknow and allow freewill. The problem is how to reconcile opposites
    without ending up with gray!
    
    john
315.5B/W vs Full-colorLJOHUB::NSMITHrises up with eagle wingsFri Sep 20 1991 12:511
    I think Jesus sees the full-color spectrum -- and then some!