Thursday, March 23, 2006

Question #20

First, my response to question #19:
The responder to this question yesterday makes a good point about the dangerous things that we handle regularly. Fire is a particularly apt example. Humans have by and large "domesticated" fire, but it sometimes gets out of control and causes incredible damage, even taking life. We remember that on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is described as descending on the disciples like tongues of fire. While God is like fire in that both can provide great help to us and can be safe, the major difference is that we cannot control God. My favorite passage in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is when the children first learn from the Beavers that the savior for whom they are longing, Aslan, is a lion. Alarmed, the children ask, "Is he safe?" The Beavers chuckle and respond, "Of course he's not safe, but he's good."

Now for today's question:

Question #20
Jephthah proclaims (and his daughter seems to agree) that a vow to YHWH is unbreakable and so apparently kills his only child in order to honor the vow. There are a number of questions here, the first is whether you believe that the nature of God includes this sort of absolutism?

Post your answer (anonymously if you prefer) using the comment field and come back tomorrow for my response and the next question.

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