tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37410885.post3334824141336920359..comments2023-07-30T05:57:48.256-04:00Comments on Gospel of the Living Dead: Another Biblical LiteralistKPaffenrothhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02323273575993522455noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37410885.post-48697136675975218372009-08-22T18:42:51.800-04:002009-08-22T18:42:51.800-04:00"Well, I was going to be a wag and say Pastor..."Well, I was going to be a wag and say Pastor Steve at least got one thing right - he didn't waste his time getting a degree in RST! Those will suck the faith right out of you and turn you into a dessicated, soulless automaton!" <br /><br />Ah, but you're a successful religious studies professor. I wasted two years getting a degree I'm not even using. It would, however, be suitable to write a story/movie/whatever that draws on my knowledge of mythology.I Love Horrorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10050339449801917732noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37410885.post-29847018916514802842009-08-22T12:37:07.947-04:002009-08-22T12:37:07.947-04:00Yes, I was thinking how the reification of the tex...Yes, I was thinking how the reification of the text is more... frustrating to me. It gives the movement the patina of "intellectual" appeal - as though they're doing real research and study, when the exact opposite is true - it's a way of ending all discussion and debate and thought. <br /><br />I'd be much more sympathetic to a charismatic, who could just say "Oh, I don't like all those texts and stuff! I just want to pray and feel the Holy Ghost w/in me!" (I'd still think that was not a full experience of faith, but I'd understand better what s/he wanted.)KPaffenrothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02323273575993522455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37410885.post-18040957545673360382009-08-22T12:33:03.958-04:002009-08-22T12:33:03.958-04:00One of the great errors of our age is Mistaking th...One of the great errors of our age is Mistaking the Symbol for What it Represents. In religious circles, this lead to idolatry (and often self-righteousness). Take the Bible, for example. Whatever you want to believe about its origin and inspiration, it is essentially the Story of God (as seen through the eyes of humanity). Among other things, it is a signpost that points us to God. But (here's where the error comes in) the Bible IS NOT God.<br />I've encountered many fellow-Christians who worship the text itself, as if it _is_ God. Ug...Michael A. Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17614758567266684577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37410885.post-28762098858745253202009-08-22T12:00:05.414-04:002009-08-22T12:00:05.414-04:00Well, I was going to be a wag and say Pastor Steve...Well, I was going to be a wag and say Pastor Steve at least got one thing right - he didn't waste his time getting a degree in RST! Those will suck the faith right out of you and turn you into a dessicated, soulless automaton!<br /><br />(Again, remember - I'd post that if I were a wag!)<br /><br />It would be a whole other blog entry (or series of them) to talk about what's wrong with going to the other extreme and making religion merely a matter of ideas and "trajectories" and logical categories. BUT - just because that extreme is wrong, doesn't give one the right to divorce reason from faith.KPaffenrothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02323273575993522455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37410885.post-10588917702698110972009-08-22T11:54:59.885-04:002009-08-22T11:54:59.885-04:00It's articles like this that makes me wish I h...It's articles like this that makes me wish I had gotten my Master's in Religious Studies instead of Classical Civilizations. Maybe that's why I wrote my thesis on ancient conceptions of demonology. Go figure. <br /><br />Well said.I Love Horrorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10050339449801917732noreply@blogger.com