tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post183263129361349287..comments2024-03-28T09:52:15.415-04:00Comments on Common Denominator: Explanatory Notes: 1 Timothy 1:5-6Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-88905232193470570692009-03-14T11:51:00.000-04:002009-03-14T11:51:00.000-04:00Timothy being a pastoral epistle to 'underwrite th...Timothy being a pastoral epistle to 'underwrite the faith' or create a tradition out of Jesus life example, was the attempt to bring peace in the world. This was the "creation of the new humanity" of "the Church" in Ephesians. But, the Church was not to be uniform, but remain diverse, while unified.<BR/><BR/>"Paul" was writing to defend that peace mind-set, as those who were affirming Jewish boundary maintenance, were defining themselves "against the other", which would lead to divisions, and tensions, definitions, etc...<BR/><BR/>While unity is a nice "ideal", it leads to a lack of judgment, discernment and discrimnation in reagard to "self" and what "self identifiers" should be. There is nothing innately wrong with identification factors, it is just when these are used to create such strong prejuidice that one cannot identify with the humanity of the 'other"...<BR/><BR/>The pastoral epistles were meant to "underwrite" Christian faith. But, Christian faith's identifiers are not to become so stignetly held that they become barriers to conversations across tradition's diversities....<BR/><BR/>Humanity has a commonality and common interest in living in the world 'at peace', but this is a hard road to be won without dissolving boundaries altogether, which I don't think is wise. We are not to beocme all one religion, or culture, or one individual "type". We are to learn tolerance with grace.<BR/><BR/>Scriptures were written before the Enlightenment and our American experiement, which I think is the "ideal" of diversity in unity accomplished, at least in theory. The military is a neccessary protection to the values that we hold. I don't know whether the "ideal" outcome of world peace is a possiblity and I wrote about this on my blog site today.Angie Van De Merwehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12617299120618867829noreply@blogger.com