Date: 26 Feb 2001
Time: 14:42:24
I am going for the simple and the obvious - "The Name that Saves." I believe that it was Shakespeare who said a rose by any other name would smell the same. However, this text implies there is something about the name. Of course, there is the OT equivolent Joshua. Are there any soteria experts out there? Tn Mack
Date: 27 Feb 2001
Time: 13:34:52
TN Mack -
I'm certainly not a soteria expert, but perhaps that's the point of the passage. We don't need to be experts - intellectually, theologically, or in holiness; all we need to do is call on the name of the Lord. I think you're right - the message is simple and straightforward.
revo in Ga
Date: 28 Feb 2001
Time: 23:30:04
I'm going with "there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all..." With so much division in the world today, we need to work really hard to bring some unity to our community of faith. People are leaving their churches because of the division between denominations. We need to become truly ecumenical if we are going to survive. It seems that many of our churches are resorting to "repent and get some love" tactics instead of, "God loves you...no strings attached" with a possible (but not guaranteed) result of "and I'm going to turn to his ways and try to spread a little bit of that love around." Just my rambling.....
Jo
Date: 02 Mar 2001
Time: 14:08:37
Jo
I'm a woman minister in an area where there are a lot who disagree with women being ministers. The more prominent one writes a column in one of the papers (I write for both of them) and his idea of unity is believing just like he does. I don't want to say that with God all things AREN'T possible, but I do believe that until we're able to understand that God is less concerned with who's right and who's wrong, and more concerned with God's grace, and his higher purpose (which Jesus went into the wilderness to align with), it's going to be difficult. Our human frailty prevails.
I'm just remembering when I wrote a column on Christian unity, and he wrote a column the next week on the same subject and said pretty much the complete opposite of what I was trying to get at. In other words, even the most "spiritually mature" leaders (if you don't believe it, just ask him) are still more interested in being "right" than being subject to Jesus as Lord.
revo