Can the Christmas stories be reconciled?

JohnClay said:

BTW earlier on Wednesday I went to the Bible study but it was cancelled because the priest was in a meeting. The Jedi guy was talking about Krishna so I told him about George Harrison's "My Sweet Lord" which mentions Krishna. The guy liked that. U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" also seems to be Christian but in the end it still says "But I still haven't found What I'm looking for".

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I would drop that other church entirely, you don't want to eat what they are serving.

JohnClay said:

Whenever that Jedi guy talks I think to myself that it is just nonsense. But the priest is very enthusiastic about Jesus. At the church dinner she was very friendly with me but then I asked if I could ask her questions sometime she talked about not being available... she didn't reply to my Facebook post addressed to her about her singing about Luke 19:10. Also on Facebook I posted a pic of the key ring my sister gave me that quoted the priestly blessing in Numbers 6:24-25. I also wrote:

At the moment I value reason over faith though... the problem with faith is that people can disagree over what the "Truth" is. But sometimes people can jump to the wrong conclusions when using reason.

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Faith and reason are not exclusive of each other. Christian faith is trust in God's nature. We have faith in our family, our friends, and our acquaintances all without affecting reason. What do you think of Daniels challenge?

JohnClay said:

A dictionary definition of "faith" says "strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof" though there can be different definitions. My comment was based on this:

1 Corinthians 3:18-19
"....If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become "fools" so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God's sight....."


What do you mean?

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That is the English definition of faith and it's close. Here is the Greek which is what the NT authors use. It's trust, or being persuaded, but not without reason. Faith comes by reading scripture, IE one learns about the character of someone just the same as if you were reading an autobiography in which you might be persuaded to feel a person is trustworthy.

Daniels challenge from #78

JohnClay said:

In the following verse I think no reason is involved...

Matthew 21:21
Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.

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It's there too. It's trust in Jesus. Why would one throw a mountain into the sea? To walk past it on dry land because it is an obstacle. This is trusting in God to complete what is needed as He did for Moses when he crossed the red sea. This obstacle is not something you can overcome on your own, but if you trust Jesus they will be overcome.

What of Daniels challenge? Is that something you are interested in?

JohnClay said:

I think the purpose of having a mountain throw itself into the sea is to demonstrate amazing power. It doesn't imply that it acomplishes any useful purpose.


Moses crossed the sea by it parting - not by climbing over a mountain that threw itself into the sea.

For me the most significant part was "Truly I tell you" i.e. he is being serious.

Also it reminds me of "I'll shout it from the mountain top" song in
Having communion while being a very liberal Christian


It seems like Daniel's challenge can also refer to diet:
Daniel's Challenge Diet
Anyway I haven't tried going all the way with Jesus.

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Look at what this saying is in response too. It's in response to the withered tree that Jesus went to for food but could not find any, and just after he overturned the tables of the money changers and they began their plot to kill Him. Look at how mountains are used in Isaiah 40:3-5. Even today "moving mountains" is an idiom for overcoming obstacles. What are the obstacles to Journey? Mountains and water, and both are made level in this. Moses's obstacle was water, and because of his faith God removed the obstacle.

Daniels abstaining was because of where the meat came from. It was meat dedicated to false gods. Here I am asking you to take up a spiritual version of this same challenge. Are you interested in seeing what will become of you if you eat from the Lords table rather than the worlds table?