[CS-FSLUG] OT: Potter, Halloween and Philipians 4:8

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>             Well, I think everything points to God to some extent, it is
>     just a
>     question of precisely how corrupt the image of God is in a given
>     work. The sacred/profane distinction isn't always useful.

According to Jesus and Paul and other Bible authors it
is critical.  The Bible draws a sharp distinction between
the sacred and profane -- only fallen man sees the world
as otherwise.

That vague shadows of the Hand of God are still visible
in the distorted mess that is the remnants of His once
perfect creation does not make imperfection a reliable
source of truth.

>      > I may be well-equipped to separate the gold from the dross
>      > but I find efforts to generalize that Bible-like literature
>      > is generically acceptable/Biblically inoffensive as recommended
>      > reading theologically sloppy, at best.
> 
>             I wouldn't say Bible-like literature is generally Biblically
>     inoffensive or a good source of theology.
> 
>             Ok, let me explain. Personally, I am of the camp that
>     believes there is general revelation. 

I am not sure why you'd call it a "camp".  General revelation is
a basic Biblical concept.  One just has to be very careful to
not read-in too much.

> I think everyone has at least some access to
>     revelation from God, and that likely you will find this in societies
>     never contacted by Christians. The World Religions all address
>     certain concerns for good reason. However, this knowledge of God is
>     *not* a saving knowledge -- I wouldn't ever tell people to close thy
>     Bible and open thy Vedas. As a member of the Theology of Crisis
>     school of thought, it is entirely the wrong to approach a knowledge
>     of God from a method other than His special revelation to us in
>     Christ Jesus.

Agreed.

>             However, I see the usefulness of studying other texts for
>     various reasons -- apologetic, academic/critical, etc.

The key is to take care that such studies do not displace
serious and consistent Bible study nor that they take
place in the absence of Christian accountability so that
subtle deceptions do not acquire a foothold.

J. Vernon McGee once said that "Seminary is a terrible
thing to do to a Christian".  To the extent that obsessions
with "Biblical criticism" from confused Christians and
non-Christians undermine one's faith, or consuming studies
of other religions or philosophies muddle one's faith, McGee
is correct.

As an overall context I want to repeat that we must always
separate what we read/view as informed and spiritually mature
Christian adults from what a child (age/maturity) should
absorb.

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