View Single Post
Old 04-04-2010, 05:33 PM   #110
orthodoxymoron
Avalon Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Lunar Base II
Posts: 3,093
Default Re: Red Letter Church

It's obvious that I'm a salesperson for the Constitution of the United States and the Red Letter Teachings of Jesus! But is it enough to simply study these documents in a free standing manner, without outside assistance?

Both sources speak for themselves and are their own interpreters! But interpretation and elaboration by brilliant and inspired commentators can be enlightening! However, these materials should not be authoritative and foundational! The foundational concrete has already been poured and has set-up! Think long and hard before commencing deconstruction with a jackhammer! If the builders have rejected the Cornerstone, and are building on another foundational site, then the name of the building must be changed! Lawsuits and firings should occur if the instructions of Christ have been, and are being, disobeyed!

I had an organic(satanic) chemistry instructor who related a story about a chemistry graduate student who was reading a novel during a lecture! The teacher had filled 3 chalkboards with a very long and complex chemical reaction pathway! He noticed the inattentive student, and sought to humiliate him in front of the other students! The lecturer asked him what the next step in the reaction pathway was! The student lazily responded that there was no point going on to the next step...since the teacher had made a serious error at the very beginning of the reaction pathway! Oops!

Christianity has done the same thing, whether by accident, design, or a combination of the two! In any case, we need to follow the blueprint revealed in the teachings of Jesus! Is there a 2,000 year history of reverence for, and observance of, the words of Christ?

In any Christian tradition, the books written, and sermons preached, on the life and teachings of Jesus are good places to begin to follow Jesus! Bishop Fulton Sheen’s Life of Christ is an excellent Roman Catholic perspective on Jesus and His teachings! Have you ever seen recordings of his show? You can view them on YouTube. They were simple, dynamic, and effective! Ellen White's The Desire of Ages is an excellent Protestant treatment of the life and teachings of Jesus!

The Constitution of the United States is a very, very minimalist document, and was not written in best-selling novel style! It's the application of the Constitution which makes it so fascinating and valuable! The Federalist Papers written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, is probably the definitive commentary on the Constitution, revealing what the framers really meant and intended! But again, this volume is not part of the authoritative foundation! The Constitution itself must be appealed to for ultimate authority!

The words 'Canon' and 'Commentary' must never be confused!
orthodoxymoron is offline   Reply With Quote