Historical Revelation to Christianity
By badfish
@badfish (208)
United States
December 15, 2009 8:01pm CST
It is considerably significant to note the insistance upon time and History in Christian revelation. Man is a Historical being; only that which occurs in time is real to him. This does not necessarily mean that time is real for God, but it does mean that time is real for man and that events must take place in time in order to be real and meaningful to him. Here the Christian church asserts that God entered into time and History in order to save man. This is why Pontius Pilate is in the apostles creed. The apostles creed is really just a very short statement of the christian faith. The incarnation, the translation of God into human terms, is for the christians not a General principle, not a symbol, but an event! Something that happend! Christians do not believe that they have infinate incarnations in which to attain God. The challenge of Christianity, the challenge of the christian gospel is that now is the accepted time - the Kairos - now is the day of salvation. History is not an eternal cycle, or wheel that turns forever and ever. History is a line, christ entered into this line.
The Protestant faith insists that the historical once and for all character of God's revelation in Jesus Christ is History, but not mere History. We become Christians when revelation is no Longer "mere history" to us and when Christ becomes our own eternal contemporary.
This means it is certainly not enough to belive in Christ as you believe in Ceasar. It isn't enough to believe in facts about Jesus. Jesus is not another Ceasar or another Socrates. You have to believe in Him; it is not enough to believe things about him. You must become a disciple as Peter or John did.
Christianity is quite different here from other religions. What Confucianism or Buddhism or Hinduism insist upon is the Truth of their Ideas. the historical event are of no significance. They have only symbolic meaning. If there had never been a man like conficius it would make little difference to Confucianism. The message of Confucianism is the truth of its Ideas not Confucius.
History nor Time have any significance to Hiduistic or Buddhist thought. everything is myth and symbol. There is no kairos in Hinduism or Buddhism.
This dicussion is only meant to illistrate the difference between Protestant Christianity and other Religions.
3 responses
@urbandekay (18278)
•
16 Dec 09
Despite finding you expression clumsy I applaud the substance of your comment.
all the best urban
2 people like this
@kashers (649)
• Jamaica
18 Dec 09
u know when i want some more humour in my life i just come to these religious discussion,u people are always arguing about what is right and what is wrong,and whos' minister is better and whos' minister is worst,but most of all your always arguing about the past events in the bible how does the past events make the future events better if all religions are so busy arguing with eachother,where is the love amognst u all i just don't see it i just see kids quarelling,and it makes me laugh
@PastorP (1170)
• United States
19 Dec 09
My reply to your statement Kashers is that it is typical forum unbeliever smoke screen.
Like, who is arguing? A discussion takes place. Can you really hear the tone of voice over cyperspace.
Such statements are smoke screens when Christians present the facts. Take heart please, and speak to the point.
@kashers (649)
• Jamaica
19 Dec 09
oh i am sorry for give me u r not connected to powers like me i can see and understand every ones pain on the lot,i can see and feel the anger when some people are making their comments,its just a pity u cannot see and feel these things like me yes i can feel and see what is happening because i am fully connected to the universal powers,also known as eck,known to u as holy spirit,no reading of no book can give u such powers no singing of songs either,no meditating with word symbols either,nothing of human pratices give u such powers to feel and understand the pain and suffering of others even when u r not there,do u know how many times i am reading some comments i see and i can understand the pain it is written in,i can feel it,and that is why when i see u kids quarelling it makes me laugh,thats the joy i get,when u wrote this post to me you were smiling cause u think u know what to say to me,
@PastorP (1170)
• United States
16 Dec 09
Badfish, I see you are a deep thinker. Imo I think that is so good. I like discussions about time, eternity, God, man. However, will wait to after tax time in the US before I get around to chatting about it.
Imo, time is real to God.
In regard to the term "Protestant Faith," ummmm, there are some groups in Protestantism that are far from Biblical teaching and standards. I would not want an unsaved person thinking that the saving faith is what they are seeing some mainline denominations today. Saving faith is the person of Christ Himself. I usually use the term "true Christian" or "true born-again Christian."
Anyhow, great post! Keep up the good work.
I like that term, "Christ becomes our own eternal contemporary."
