From: vbv@r2d2.eeap.cwru.edu (Virgilio (Dean) B. Velasco Jr.)
Subject: Re: The arrogance of Christians
Organization: Case Western Reserve Univ. Cleveland, Ohio (USA)
Lines: 56

In article <Apr.10.05.32.29.1993.14388@athos.rutgers.edu> caralv@caralv.auto-trol.com (Carol Alvin) writes:
>vbv@r2d2.eeap.cwru.edu (Virgilio (Dean) B. Velasco Jr.) writes:
>
>No, IMO, Mr. Stowell missed the point.
>
>> 	"We affirm the absolutes of Scripture, not because we are arrogant
>> moralists, but because we believe in God who is truth, who has revealed His
>> truth in His Word, and therefore we hold as precious the strategic importance
>> of those absolutes."
>
>Mr. Stowell seems to have jumped rather strangely from truth to absolutes.
>I don't see how that necessarily follows.  
>
>Are all truths also absolutes?
>Is all of scripture truths (and therefore absolutes)?
>
>If the answer to either of these questions is no, then perhaps you can 
>explain to me how you determine which parts of Scripture are truths, and
>which truths are absolutes.  

The answer to both questions is yes.

All Scripture is true, being inspired by God.  The evidence for this
claim has been discussed ad nauseum in this group.

Similarly, all truth is absolute.  Indeed, a non-absolute truth is a 
contradiction in terms.  When is something absolute?  When it is always
true.  Obviously, if a "truth" is not always "true" then we have a
contradiction in terms.  

Many people claim that there are no absolutes in the world.  Such a
statement is terribly self-contradictory.  Let me put it to you this
way.  If there are no absolutes, shouldn't we conclude that the statement,
"There are no absolutes" is not absolutely true?  Obviously, we have a
contradiction here.

This is just one of the reasons why Christians defy the world by claiming
that there are indeed absolutes in the universe.

>There is hardly consensus, even in evangelical 
>Christianity (not to mention the rest of Christianity) regarding 
>Biblical interpretation.

So?  People sometimes disagree about what is true.  This does not negate
the fact, however, that there are still absolutes in the universe.  Moreover,
evangelical Christianity, at least, still professes to believe in certain
truths.  Man is sinful, man needs salvation, and Jesus is the propitiation
for mankind's sins, to name a few.  Any group that does not profess to
believe these statements cannot be accurately called evangelical.


-- 
Virgilio "Dean" Velasco Jr, Department of Electrical Eng'g and Applied Physics 
	 CWRU graduate student, roboticist-in-training and Q wannabee
    "Bullwinkle, that man's intimidating a referee!"   |    My boss is a 
   "Not very well.  He doesn't look like one at all!"  |  Jewish carpenter.
