> > Even so, we can't very well poll all of creation or anything like it to discover what is or isn't an acceptable sacrifice. So, my original question stands: Who decides where to draw the line?
>
> Here's an answer that sounds like a cop-out, but I mean it quite seriously: God gets to decide where to draw the line. Of course, for us ethicists, then, the problem simply gets pushed back one further step to, "how do you tell what God has decided?" Here again, it's a complicated question. Scripture provides very clear-cut answers to some moral and ethical questions, but at other times it seems to point us only to the process of developing maturity and wisdom, and coming to know God personally so that we can better understand what His character demands of us.

The only problem I, personally, have with your answer is this: what if God doesn't tell us when we're going too far? God has, of late, adopted a much more remote attitude than he had in the days of Abraham and Isaac; he no longer comes down to Earth and tells man directly. The Bible (and I'm not knocking it here, mind you) may be a wonderful work and all, and it may be the word of God and His prophets, but it ranges from 1600 to 3000 years old! Many of the modern-day scenarios didn't exist. So how do we know what God wants us to do?

> The lack of clear-cut answers on many issues has led to serious disputes and differences of opinion among believers whom I hold in equal esteem; the Protestant Reformers are an obvious example. I am generally satisfied if each person holds his/her conscience accountable to God and tries to maintain a teachable attitude, which is essential to the process of maturity. I suppose this is as much as to say that rather than prescribing solutions to every problem personally, I am content if the problem is being handled by people who have mature spiritual lives with God.

But that puts us in a bind again. We're delegating it to committee - and, with history as my witness, the committee will eventually screw up. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing - it's still preferable to totalitarianism in my mind - but it brings up the interpretation issue again. There exist people who are themselves at peace with God and spirituality, but disagree totally with what other people think who are also at peace. Are we, then, to leave it up to people who think what they're doing is right, or do we wait for a sign from God (meant literally, not derisively)?

> (This is way too much fun, and I have GOT to get back to work!)

I as well. But, as you said, I have much too much fun with these things, as long as they remain intellegent and civil (which, to my unending surprise, this discussion has done a commedable job of).

dkd1