+ = - Contradiction (Bell)
Jeff Epler jepler@inetnebr.com
Thu, 18 Sep 1997 19:24:30 -0500 (00874650270, 19970918192430.27869@inetnebr.com)
On Thu, Sep 18, 1997 at 04:37:49PM -0500, Miracle wrote:
> (A) MT 12:30 Jesus says "He who is not for me is against me"
> (B) MK 9:40 Jesus says "Whoever is not against us is for us"
>
> There can only be three general positions someone can hold concerning
> Jesus. They are (1)For, (2)Against, and (3)Indifferent.
[... There's a contradiction about the "indifferent" folks]
This problem goes away if one maintains that there _are_ no indifferent
people, but that all people who exist are either for or against.
Of course, it doesn't seem as though there can actually be no
indifferent people, surely there are a lot of human beings just born
who don't care one bit for or against Jesus, because they know nothing
about him. The claim might be made, "ah, but if the babies knew" or
"as soon as the babies know", but I could claim that you're dead and
when you say "no I'm not" I would say "well if your heart was not
pumping blood you would be," or "as soon as you stop breathing you will
be", which is obviously not the same as you being dead _now_.
Similarly, babies and others who have not heard the "good news" (or heard
anything against the "good news") really must be indifferent until they
do.
Another reply is that, at least in the english, one verse is about
"me" (Jesus), and the other is about "us". One might claim that the
second verse speaks of Jesus' followers, or the cause of Christianity
as a whole, and thus people who are not for Jesus are against Jesus,
but those who are not against Christianity are for it. But this falls
over because "us" includes "me", and on this count the contradiction
also stands.
I can't think of any other easy responses to this, and I don't believe
that the two that came quickly to mind stand up under scrutiny.
Jeff
--
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