Microsoft Word - ChristianityNotReligionBkMSS.doc

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for man. Rather, God wants His character of love to be
expressed behaviorally. Paul explains that his prayer for the
Ephesians is that they might "know (gnonai) the love of
God which surpasses knowledge (gnoseos)" (Eph. 3:19).
Jesus indicted the Jewish Pharisees by charging, "You
search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you
have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;
and you are unwilling to come to Me, that you may have
life" (John 5:39,40). The written statements of factual
information about history and theology contained in the
Biblical record and upon which religious people take their
stand to develop a belief-system and a doctrinal position,
constitute only a foundational basis of epistemological
understanding. Jesus considered such totally insufficient as
the basis for the divine reality that He was making available
in Himself. He was making His own divine being, His own
life, available for the restoration of functional mankind.
Epistemological understanding is inadequate to
comprehend the divine reality that is the essence of
Christianity. The objective of the Christian message is not
to encourage people to receive and accumulate and assent
to information, but rather to receive the very Being of God

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