CLARITY

[RV]

I wanted to just throw this out there and start a discussion.

Any thoughts on why many things aren't more clear? Example: Heaven/Hell

Why is the scripture so open to interpretation.

Any thoughts on why the Lord may have made it that way?

[TK]

Good question!

I think an obvious answer might be that at the time the scriptures were written, clarity on the topics that bother us today (like heaven/hell, calvinism/arminianism/opne theism, end times scenarios) wasnt the goal- i.e. the writers probably thought that things WERE clear and did not need explanation. Over the centuries some of the clarity they had about such topics has been lost and has been clouded by tradition, etc and we have been left with the task of figuring out what the truth is, which is probably the same as what the original writers thought it to be.

I think some of the problem we have today stems from having the whole bible readily available and there are competing passages that raise these issues (e.g. some verses seem to support calvinism, and others seem to support some other system). Back when the scriptures were being written they may not have had easy access to all of the scriptures to cross reference, double check, etc. Of course this is just a guess on my part. This is compounded by the fact that there are very smart and godly people who can argue eloquently on opposite sides of an issue.

TK

[RV]

Of course this is just a guess on my part.

Yeah, I just wanted to open it up for discussion.

I think some of the problem we have today stems from having the whole bible readily available and there are competing passages that raise these issues (e.g. some verses seem to support calvinism, and others seem to support some other system).

That indeed that may be a problem, but having the "whole councel" shouldn't be a problem.

This is compounded by the fact that there are very smart and godly people who can argue eloquently on opposite sides of an issue.

I agree and it's something that is very interesting.

Any other thoughts on this?

[RV]

And another thought...

Yeah, things probably were more clear back then, but their clarity doesn't seem to be relevant to us.

...and we have been left with the task of figuring out what the truth is...

That's what it seems like. Some obviously care more than others.

It seems strange. If I ask what our bodies will be like in heaven, there is usally some long explanation that isn't very clear.

Well you see, this word has another root word that has a verb, that came from a word that was a noun, that this guy in A.D. 171 used, but I don't really agree on the his whole interpretation of the passage, so I'm just going to use what fits my paradigm.

Interesting... anyhow... thoughts?

[brody196]

A brother who post here named Christopher once posted the best answer to this question IMO that I have ever heard.
(Paraphrased)
"God did not make everything crystal clear to see if we would love each other anyways."

[RV]

Thanks brody196...

That's interesting. I wonder where he would have gathered that info.

[brody196]

I'm quite sure that Christopher deduced it from several passages. Jesus said in John 13: 34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

The lack of genuine love in the body of Christ is scary these days. People will divide over the smallest things! Note that Jesus did not say "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you all agree on everything. Heck, even the NT church didn't agree on everything(Romans 14-15), yet they were still commanded to love each other and be "tender hearted"(Eph 4:32)

[Jason]

Amen to that, Brody. This isn't just true about the bible though. Take any subject whatsoever and I'll show you at least ten different opinions on it. It's human nature to be divisive and, like Christopher, I think God left things messy in order to showcase the love of his followers. I'd imagine that Matthew and Simon the Zealot had opposing views on politics but Jesus threw them together and said, "Love one another as I have loved you." It's no different today - even honest people reading the scriptures logically will still disagree on some points (as evidenced on this forum) but our witness to the world is that we love each other anyway. Also - and this might be a little out of left field - but perhaps God doesn't want his people to agree on everything exactly because it might interrupt our different callings in life like at Babel... it wasn't until their languages were confused that they did the will of God.

[RV]

He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)

Thanks... I guess it may just boil down to this.

[RV]

So... based on your thoughts...what do you think about John 14:16?