Gamma Hydra Section Ten

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Saying the Bible tells Jews and Christians to kill homosexuals is like saying that Star Trek II is all about Captain Saavik’s failed attempt to rescue the Kobayashi Maru from the Klingon Neutral Zone.

Comments

  1. Yuriko says:
    2005-07-28 at 11:19

    A very good analogy. Thank you for making it. (^_^)

  2. Rod says:
    2005-07-28 at 12:02

    And what brought this on, Mr. Non-Sequitur?

  3. Paulo says:
    2005-07-28 at 12:04

    Rod – see first link in previous entry.

  4. filmgoerjuan says:
    2005-07-28 at 14:56

    So you’re saying the Bible is actually all about the Genesis device? ;)

  5. Paulo says:
    2005-07-28 at 16:37

    By gum you’re right, filmgoerjuan! Not only that, but I just realized this isn’t the first time I’ve used Star Trek II for theological illustration.

  6. Bam says:
    2005-07-28 at 18:11

    Well, count on me to stir the pot.

    Bear with me, I’m working up to an honest question.

    Star Trek II may not have been about Saavik’s failed attempt to rescue the Kobayashi Maru, but it did occur within that narrative. (On a simulator, with senior officers of the Enterprise playing dead. How do you get stuck with that dumb an assignment?)

    While the Bible may not be primarily about dictums about ritual cleanliness and how to handle homosexuals, passages like this do exist.

    Take for example Deuteronomy 20 which talks about how to conduct war — that doesn’t square with the kind of mercy and compassion that we come to know in Jesus.

    These may not be the main thread of the Bible, but they do exist in scripture. How does one reconcile these contrasting messages if all scripture is profitable for doctrine and instruction in righteousness? What do you do personally when someone picks and chooses a verse to support something that doesn’t square with the rest of the material?

  7. Paulo says:
    2005-07-28 at 23:47

    Well, I rely on the traditions of the holy mother church, of course!

    Naw, I’m kidding.

    Exercise solid hermeneutics and cross-reference with related material in the grander scheme of the narrative, always seen through the filter of the true focus of Scripture: Jesus.

    What does Christ’s fulfillment of prophecy and Law bode for our readings of the Old Testament? Does the Law stay as jots and tittles? Is it fully rescinded in favor of the Great Commandment? Or is it a point-by-point edit-and-append deal based on specific references in Gospels and Epistles? I won’t go into issues over which books have been written and wars fought, but those are the questions I ask everytime I come across a troublesome verse.

    The other thing to ask is, what was history’s verdict? What did early church fathers say about a passage, what do classical and contemporary scholars say about it across denominations? Most Baptists are allergic to the word “tradition” (ah-choo), but the question must be asked, what have Christians traditionally believed about a troublesome verse? What has been the consensus among various churches, and where are the differences?

    I’ve long acknowledged that it’s impossible to completely avoid picking and choosing in a lot of gray areas, and I think that’s okay as long as we first defer to Scripture, to the Holy Spirit, and to the community of faith of which we are part. What’s most important is to be united in the essentials — that Christ is Messiah, our resurrected Lord. Given that, also reference my prior material on differences in interpretation, also an aforementioned Star Trek II reference.

  8. Rod says:
    2005-07-29 at 10:37

    Well, let’s wrap this up together.

    Star Trek II was about how people deal with unwinnable situations. Kirk’s is the attempt to change the rules of the confrontation, essentially cheating. Spock’s is to sacrifice himself for the “good of the many.”

    Similarly, the Bible is about God’s activity in history with his people and his attempt to communicate with them what he wants them to be. And how they react to that. Ultimately, we discover we ourselves cannot be the kind of people God wants us to be, that we cannot change the rules, we cannot cheat, that we much rely on Christ’s sacrifice, which he made for the good the the many.

  9. Daniel says:
    2005-07-29 at 10:57

    I think this warrants another watching of Star Trek II. Just for theological study, of course.

    Good insights.

  10. thomas says:
    2005-07-29 at 14:34

    I’m glad I’m not the only one that got that.