From: caralv@caralv.auto-trol.com (Carol Alvin)
Subject: Re: The arrogance of Christians
Lines: 37

vbv@r2d2.eeap.cwru.edu (Virgilio (Dean) B. Velasco Jr.) writes:

> 	I just thought I'd share some words that I received in a letter 
> from Moody Bible Institute a couple of months ago.  The words are by
> James M. Stowell, the president of MBI.
> 
> 	"The other day, I was at the dry cleaner and the radio was playing.
> It caught my attention because a talk show guest was criticizing evangelical
> Christians, saying we believe in absolutes and think we are the only ones
> who know what the absolutes are.
> 
> 	"He missed the point.

No, IMO, Mr. Stowell missed the point.

> 	"We affirm the absolutes of Scripture, not because we are arrogant
> moralists, but because we believe in God who is truth, who has revealed His
> truth in His Word, and therefore we hold as precious the strategic importance
> of those absolutes."

Mr. Stowell seems to have jumped rather strangely from truth to absolutes.
I don't see how that necessarily follows.  

Are all truths also absolutes?
Is all of scripture truths (and therefore absolutes)?

If the answer to either of these questions is no, then perhaps you can 
explain to me how you determine which parts of Scripture are truths, and
which truths are absolutes.  And, who is qualified to make these 
determinations?  There is hardly consensus, even in evangelical 
Christianity (not to mention the rest of Christianity) regarding 
Biblical interpretation.

I find Mr. Stowell's statement terribly simple-minded.

Carol Alvin
caralv@auto-trol.com
