Please forgive me, Dr Pulcini, for using a snippet of your post as a
jumping off point, but it brings to mind a matter that I have been
wanting to discuss here on the Orthodox list.
We don't know God's perspective,
but we *do* know what has been revealed to us by God...
It's not God's perspective that we should speculate upon,
but rather what is important is our *fidelity* to what has been handed
down to us.
This is a big of a 'hot button' thing for me,
as it has to do with how we view ourselves,
the created Universe,
the Church
and God.
1) Do we place our minds in place of the mind of God and say, "Well, to
God, it probably isn't important".
or
2) Do we work within the mind of the Church, the witness of the Saints,
Scripture - in a nutshell, Holy Tradition?
Often, I hear in various circles, "Well, what would Jesus say/do?" Which
is saying in effect, "If I were God, what would I do?"
It seems subtle on the surface, but has far reaching consequences. To
study what Jesus *actually* did, to study what the Saints *actually* did,
and base one's decision in a matter (whether a personal decision in one's
own life, or one's opinion on a theogical or practical matter) on that
information is one thing... But it is quite another thing to put one's
self in Jesus' shoes and say what one *thinks* Jesus would say... I may
be terribly wrong about this, and I hope for Godly instruction from those
gifted by God in instruction, but this seems, to me, to be quite
dangerous, as it puts one in a position of 'speaking for God.'
Among some people I encounter, it seems like a game. "What would Jesus
do if He were faced with... death penalty, abortion, scandal,
depression... (i.e. - pick your favorite hot-topic and insert here)...
I don't know why, but my stomach drops to my feet when I hear people
talking like that. I don't know why I get that sensation or what it
means when I do... but that disturbs me (for some reason, and maybe
somebody here can explain why) a million times more than somebody saying,
"Religion is all crap" or "Science has the answers" or "You religious
freaks need to face reality..."
Anyhow.... DIvine or Human Perspective... is it right to speak for God,
perhaps in an attempt to leap above this labyrinth of life, or is it
right to follow those who came before us and those who are here now to
guide and protect us?
-Kenneth
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