tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post249964514858402613..comments2024-03-22T18:43:00.710-04:00Comments on Unam Sanctam Catholicam: On Right Reading of the Old Testament (part 2)Bonifacehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-12394443734968895232014-06-19T00:23:13.370-04:002014-06-19T00:23:13.370-04:00@Eric Brooks:
We also may be affected by the time...@Eric Brooks:<br /><br />We also may be affected by the times in which we live.<br /><br />The rejection of the Reign of Christ the King is almost universal in these days. This makes it difficult for a layman, or even a cleric, to enforce God's law.<br /><br />For example, abortion is murder. You will, I'm sure, find many admonitions in the O.T. that says a person who murders the innocent shall be put to death. But, in our day and age, it is frowned upon to eliminate abortionists. This is not an issue because abortion is better nowadays. It is an issue because our whole society has fallen to a degree that the general consensus (ignoring Christ) is that it is worse to kill abortionists than it is to kill babies. <br /><br />Much the same with witches. We cannot kill them, so we must build pagan altars for them at the Air Force Academy. <br /><br />It is really a sad state. But God writes straight with crooked lines. Unrepentant witches, abortionists, lawyers, and other scoundrels will face judgement. <br /><br />So will the rest of us.<br /><br />We'd best be prepared.<br /><br />Paul Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-71008095614902852242014-03-28T11:26:28.244-04:002014-03-28T11:26:28.244-04:00I look forward to it. If possible, could you try ...I look forward to it. If possible, could you try to work in some assistance for interpreting "it is mercy I desire, not sacrifice"? I am also seeing that quite a bit but am having trouble understanding what that means.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-23272098460527078862014-03-26T11:27:16.848-04:002014-03-26T11:27:16.848-04:00Yes, the parts that are not temporary are still in...Yes, the parts that are not temporary are still in force - and those are primary the moral commands. What is temporary and what is still binding is found in the Tradition. <br /><br />Your last question is too broad to be answered here. Please keep abreast of the blog for the next installment. ;)Bonifacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-27174182264805419032014-03-26T11:22:55.262-04:002014-03-26T11:22:55.262-04:00Thank you. And those parts which were not tempora...Thank you. And those parts which were not temporary remain, then?<br /><br />What do they mean for us? We continue to have to keep the commandments, I assume. But I don't understand how that connects with Christ's fulfillment. Is it that we could never, because of our falleness, perfectly keep the Law, but with grace, we can?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-6242786675691887082014-03-26T10:38:02.744-04:002014-03-26T10:38:02.744-04:00Sure. To "fulfill" means to bring someth...Sure. To "fulfill" means to bring something to its logical conclusion. It means that Christ, in His life and mission, brings to completion all the things foreshadowed in the Law. He does not abolish - that is, He does not wipe the Law away or disregard it, but He fulfills.<br /><br />An example-<br /><br />Suppose I take out a loan. There are two ways I can bring an end to the loan - I can (a) refuse to pay the loan back and simply stiff the creditors, or (b) I can pay the loan back to the last penny.<br /><br />In the first example, I negate the loan by repudiating it. In the second, I make the loan go away by fulfilling all of its terms, right down to the last penny.<br /><br />Christ fulfills the law in the second sense. Every demand the Law makes, He fulfills in His perfection. Every sacrifice foreshadows His one sacrifice, His moral teaching perfects the imperfect teachings of the Old Covenant - His revelation completes everything hinted at in the Law.<br /><br />Once the "Law" has been fulfilled, those parts of the Law which were only temporary pass away, just like the loan payments pass away once the obligation has been fulfilled.Bonifacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-71980804579722451442014-03-26T09:25:30.075-04:002014-03-26T09:25:30.075-04:00Can you help me to understand the Mass readings fo...Can you help me to understand the Mass readings for today in light of these distinctions?: http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032614.cfm<br /><br />When I have heard recent talk of mercy in the Church, I get the impression that it means putting aside "the law". So when Christ says he has come to fulfill it, what does He mean?<br /><br />Is he referring to the Old Testament moral precepts that you mention which are always binding (like the teaching on homosexuality)? <br /><br />What does it mean to "fulfill the law"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-81148209012451930462014-03-23T17:56:25.487-04:002014-03-23T17:56:25.487-04:00Very good distinctions. I might add that, even if ...Very good distinctions. I might add that, even if the particular civil punishsent for a sin is no longer required to be enforced, it must be accepted that the punishsent required by mosaic law was not unjust. We may no longer put a witch to death, but we must accept that witchcraft is serious enough to merit death, lest we accuse God of injustoce. As a side note I've sometimes heard it said that those sins which were publishable with death in the Law are mortal sins. It seems a handy principle given the liberal meaning of "mortal sin", though I haven't studied it in depth enough to see that it's always valid.Eric Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11638730349918691492noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-77700362222680076242014-03-22T16:53:30.301-04:002014-03-22T16:53:30.301-04:00In your example, I would say yes, but I would say ...In your example, I would say yes, but I would say that this is an application rather than an enactment or a fulfillment; in other words, while you could certainly see the devout making of the sign of the cross as an application of the principle of Deut. 11:18, I don't think you could argue from Deut. 11:18 that we are obligated to do that, or that it is the "fulfillment" of that particular aspect of the Law. In the cases you refer to, it is going to be more a matter of tradition, custom and piety rather than strict exegesis. That's just my opinion.Bonifacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10672810254075072214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6086833995941525990.post-46842923705857142292014-03-22T16:00:12.904-04:002014-03-22T16:00:12.904-04:00Are there any Mosaic laws which do not enact some ...Are there any Mosaic laws which do not enact some principle that is currently valid? Do these laws give us insight into the nuances of that principle which can assist us in applying the current forms which similarly embody the given principle? For example, Deuteronomy 11:18 says, "Lay up these my words in your hearts and minds, and hang them for a sign on your hands, and place them between your eyes." Is this now enacted by the Sign of the Cross?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com