[PLUG-TALK] MRC - Should marriage be open to homosexual couples? - MRC

[Ronald Chmara]

On Feb 6, 2009, at 10:54 AM, Michael Robinson wrote:
> On Fri, 2009-02-06 at 02:46 -0800, Ronald Chmara wrote:
>> On Feb 5, 2009, at 11:31 PM, Michael Robinson wrote:
>>> It is not in Apollo, or Aphrodite, or any other Greek god that the
>>> currency says we trust. If it were, it would say In Aphrodite or In
>>> Zeus etcetera.
>>
>> The English word 'God' does not exist in the original bible texts.
>> Period.
> So what.
>> Neither you, nor any scholar on the planet, can ever find it.
> So what.
>> It's a modern(-ish) word, designed to encompass the many historical
>> names used, in many languages and faiths, to point to a concept, and
>> idea, a belief in a "higher power".  When many texts were assembled
>> in the Abrahamic (and other) faiths, names for the concept were often
>> reduced and condensed, and thus, the hundreds of names for the
>> concept were often combined into "allah", "LORD", (etc.).
> Terms that mean God can be reduced in meaning?

A-D-N, aka the root name of the god Adonis, (as well as a name of  
Tammuz) is also the "Adonai" God name for most jews and christians.

> Come on Ronald, you are quibbling over semantics.

You were trying to make a point, I think, about what 'In God We  
Trust' meant, but then referred to "Greek god", without, perhaps,  
knowing that the bible uses a few different terms, and refers to  
different Gods (plural)..... and that one of those names also became  
known (to us) as the greek god Adonis.

>  Frankly, Aramaic
> is not the only language the bible was originally written in and
> it wasn't originally written.

Who said anything about Aramaic? Did you mis-read 'Abrahamic',  
referring to the three main faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam)  
that descended from Abraham?

> The bible started out as an oral
> tradition.  Have you ever considered the possibility Ronald that
> Allah, God, Father, Creator, Abba, Yahweh, etcetera refer to the
> same God in different languages and faith traditions?

That's something of a universalist interpretation, that some folks  
subscribe to. Of course, if you accept that proposition, than the  
currency and motto of the United states actually *is* parseable as  
"In Zeus we Trust", or at the very least, "In Adonis We Trust".

>  I guess you
> can't accept writings about God in any language other than Aramaic
> even through Greek was a popular language as well in biblical
> times.

*cough*
Are you referring to the Septuagint? The Targumim?

I actually like to study across variations, as (for example) the  
differing LXX, Vulgate, Targumim, and MT variants provide for  
interesting insights into the text, and the translators.

> There are multiple languages
> behind the bible, not just one.

Uh.... yeah....

>  The interpretation of the bible
> and it's translation is highly disputed if one has no authority
> to go by.

There is no single "authority" to resolve all disputes, hence,  
needing to be well versed (so to speak) before opening one's mouth.

> ...That said, humanity is not worshipped or semi worshipped.  You
> don't understand the meaning of worship where applying it
> partially means nothing.

I suppose "worship" can mean different things to different people, I  
would consider invoking a name in a prayer, or making idols and  
depictions of the figure being invoked, as worship.

>>> Only God
>>> receives worship.
>> /facepalm
>> You don't know what dulia, latria, and hyperdulia are?
> "There are three levels of reverence that we in this life offer.  
> Latria
> is reserved for God alone. Hyperdulia is reserved for the Blessed
> Virgin. Dulia is reserved for all the rest of the heavenly host."

Sounds to me like three levels of worship.

>>>  The founding fathers were mostly Christian.
>> Wrong, unless you have some creative meanings for the word
>> "Christian", or "mostly".
> Christian means follower of Christ and universal.  Most early settlers
> in this country were Christian.

My bad, you had a creative meaning for "founding fathers".

-Bop