> I think our positions are really the same on this except the words we use are different.

Yep. A lot of what you said finally clicked with the above post.

>Enh... *this* I would say is really high-level interpretation. The Bible doesn't actually say this; people take it as implied from such verses as "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength" (which would actually seem to imply we are *tetraune* beings; would "strength" mean the physical body?), while I prefer to think of those as aspects of a single person.

Agreed. That was rash and not sufficiently based in Scripture. I won't say it isn't true; I just mean I'm going to search until I figure it out or decide it is only speculation, also keeping the following in mind...

> But there's also an element of humility in recognizing that "just because I didn't think of it myself doesn't mean it's wrong". :)

--

> Because (I already talked about this exhaustively elsewhere) the Bible does talk about Jesus being the end of the Law, our being dead to the Law, the Law being fulfilled, etc., etc. And the DP was very definitely part of if not the epitome of the old Mosaic Law.
>
> I don't mean to offend you; I do agree with many of your thoughts and I can see your reasoning, but I'm not sure how I feel about the idea that the simplest explanation is always the best. The simplest explanation that *fits the facts and makes sense* is always the best,

If an idea doesn't fit the facts, it isn't an explanation in the first place.

> but I'd never advocate swallowing a contradiction in the name of simplicity (though some call that the sign of true intelligence :) ). Short, glib answers that don't really explain anything turn me off more than long, boring lectures that contain at heart a glimmer of truth. (This may explain my own writing style.)

The apostles--after Jesus came, remember--explicitly stated that the death penalty is acceptable for some crimes: Acts 13:28, 25:11, 28:18, perhaps Romans 1:32 and 1 John 5:16, others. I don't see a contradiction.

gab"Hooray for Strong's Exhaustive Concordance"by