I admire James McGrath’s willingness to admit to being a Baptist, and to stand up for the intellect among the fundies who would uniquely claim the name for their own. It does seem to me that some people are very confused about what Jesus (and Paul) said.
What Jesus never said.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength. (Guess what’s been forgotten in this version: see Mark 12:30)
What Paul never said.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your souls. (See Romans 12:2)
Some churches and Christians act as though this is what the Bible says. I imagine that their ideal church foyer has an attendant who allows them to check their brains in before entering worship. (And I’d love for Dave Walker to draw this one)
8 responses so far ↓
1 Christopher Heard // Mar 12, 2008 at 10:30 pm
Yeah, but Mark 12:30 misquotes Deuteronomy 6:4-5, where there are only three elements. (OTOH, “heart” is the seat of the intellect, not the emotions, in biblical Hebrew idiom.)
2 Drew // Mar 12, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Wel thats wht paster said, so u must be ful of the devuhl.
As Hioly King Jams Bible say:
Therefore thus saith the Lord God; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.
And Its abomb inashun.
Blesings;
3 doug // Mar 12, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Or possibly, Jesus (and/or Mark) interprets it!
4 Peter Kirk // Mar 12, 2008 at 10:59 pm
The relationship between Deuteronomy 6:5, in MT and LXX, and the diverse NT quotations of it is an interesting one. Perhaps Mark realised that KARDIA “heart” was not an adequate translation of the Hebrew and so inserted DIANOIA “mind” into the list to complete the original thought. This suggestion implies that Jesus actually quoted Deuteronomy accurately, in Hebrew or Aramaic. Oddly enough the response of the scribe in 12:33 is different. I’m sure the source critics have had fun with this one - I have not read up on this.
5 Drew // Mar 12, 2008 at 11:19 pm
What is more interesting here to my mind is the Pharisee’s response. He includes “understanding” (don’t have the Greek in front of me at the moment). So why is it there too? Is this a traditional element or from another source later added in? Or is Jesus referring to the interpretation in that specific context? It seems to be more than Jesus’ own interpretation here. Worth a look see back at the ranch…
6 doug // Mar 12, 2008 at 11:24 pm
It is an interesting set of possibilities. Of course, for all those who in today’s church ignore all these references to “mind”, it is the Greek text lying behind the KJV that is the inerrant one!
7 Drew // Mar 13, 2008 at 2:14 am
Right. I stepped out of my inerrant fundie persona for a minute there.
But I do need to study the interesting and unique response from the Pharisee in Mark. The Pharisee says “kai ex oles tes suneseos” rather than “kai ex oles dianoias”.
Maybe I will pull this out for a separate post as something to get some comment…
8 Love Your Neighbor with All of Your Mind, and/or Understanding/Intelligence | Notes From Off-Center // Mar 13, 2008 at 2:54 am
[...] post that was basically a jape over at Doug Chaplin's home actually raised an interesting question. My question has to do with the exchange between [...]
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