h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

Colossians 1

We've been asking for a rational approach to Christianity for a while here. You're probably going to get ganged up on (possibly including by me), but please keep on posting. There've been far too many Calvin's and no Eckhart's.

Yes, let's keep posting.
It's been posted before, but it bears repeating:

"Now these three remain: faith hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." 1 CORINTHIANS 13

'Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword'

Mathew10:34


I finally understand this now.

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In the film "Charlotte Gray", Cate Blanchett's character is seeing a shrink before going off to Vichy France, and he asks her which she thinks is the greatest. She chooses hope, but I have to go with Paul here...

Vicky

KJV please.



It's *charity*, not love

Yes I agree with Cate Blanchett, (I'll agree to anything with her ), about hope. But it's charity; in its original full on meaning, not the pathetic lilly livered thing we think of 'charity' being today.

*Love* is not something the bible knows anything much about I'm afraid.

AFAIK, the KJV chose to interpret the word as charity, but the love referred to is what C S Lewis calls 'agape', which it's easy to think if as 'lily-livered', but it's really not.

Vicky

I tend to agree with Trig, actually:
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Thought I'd post 1 Cor. 13 here for reference:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

Oops! Missed a little bit.

Thought I'd post 1 Cor. 13 here for reference:

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
"Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

http://americandigest.org/astamp.jpg

Sorry Christopher, the result was a '403 Error', 'You do not have permission to bla bla"...

I got in OK.

That *has* to be photoshop...

Gif

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This is still what I get! What *is* it?

Vicky

Does this help? http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://americandigest.org/astamp.jpg&imgrefurl=http://dsmoya31410.blogspot.com/2008/02/21-st-century-love.html&h=351&w=450&sz=24&hl=en&start=52&tbnid=8lByRBzFRWHYsM:&tbnh=99&tbnw=127&prev=/images%3Fq%3D1%2BCor.%2B13%2Bon%2Bback%26start%3D40%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2006-19,RNWE:en%26sa%3DN

That's great for the context, but I still can't see the image! (It comes up postage stamp sized...)


Vicky

It's the text of 1 Cor 13 as a lower back tattoo.

(It's quite a long quote, for a tattoo.)

Gif

Oh, thanks! Painful for someone! They're brave...

Vicky

I'm put in mind of the wartime submarine commander, who reached safety in Malta after three days in the Med dodging torpedoes, depth-charges and bombs. His signal to Royal Navy HQ in Malta, advising them he was on the way into dock, got the reply "Sorry you had a hard time getting here from Gib. Stand by for further orders" The captain signalled back with a cryptic Biblical quote: "Hebrews 11:11" (I think) which with a little extra punctuation reads:

"Jesus Christ! The same today, the same yesterday, and still the same tomorrow"

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God"

Psalm 14