I allowed myself to be baited

(and other nasty quote about my character)

You “agreed” with Merry but then made another personal attack. Baiting? I questioned your analysis of a biblical passage, as I would have ANYONE’s similar analysis of that passage. You’ve done nothing but deride me for doing so. Your previous apology apparently meant nothing. What if Ken Silva or John MacArthur, whom you despise, had presented an analysis that seemed unbiblical to you and then reacted as you have to me to anyone who questioned their analysis? What would you have said about them?

the “name” thing captures very little New Testament focus in the context of the present discussion, then it is a sidebar and not all that important.

Rick,
I’m not sure what you’re after (I see the New Testament as an incomplete story without all the background of the Old Testament) – but this scripture ties in very well with the discussion of the name of God:

John 8:58-59, in which Jesus basically calls Himself “I Am” and faces stoning.

Also, in church this past Sunday, someone read this scripture which I thought brings out very much the importance of the name of Yahweh, and what He chose to emphasize when He brought it out:

Exodus 34: (A New Copy of the Covenant) Then the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and called out his own name, “the LORD,” as Moses stood there in his presence. He passed in front of Moses and said, “I am the LORD, I am the LORD, the merciful and gracious God. I am slow to anger and rich in unfailing love and faithfulness. I show this unfailing love to many thousands by forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so I do not leave sin unpunished, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.” Moses immediately fell to the ground and worshiped . . . (The rest is great too.)

The only thing I’m leaning on right now is my dog – a 18-month old mastiff…

We’re looking forward to seeing you here in a couple of weeks…

That is why, my friend, I will not say “I respect you”. I happen to know that Zan is the deep one in your neighborhood!

You know, this probably isn’t any of my business since I haven’t been a part of this conversation, but I’d just like to share my humble opinion. This thread has some very interesting information and would have been a valuable discussion for me, had it not been for the personal attacks . . . some comments don’t need to be taken so personally. Both sides of the arguments had valid points and opinions. Let’s respect each other in a Christ-like manner, shall we? The way I see it, having a knowledge of the Hebrew culture is quite helpful to understanding the Bible, but it does not add or take away to Scripture, nor does it have anything to do with one’s salvation and relationship with the Lord. If Biblical knowledge is not shared or questioned with love, than we’re probably no better off having that information when it comes to our relationship with God and people. Hope that makes sense.

Do I try to go look up the original source of every reference? No. Do I claim to do any original research? No.

I don’t have the patience to be a scholar, so I am an engineering project manager with a hobby in research and writing.

As for you, Amy, I find your personality to be grating and tedious, consistently unrealistic, hyperbolic and hypercritical, with inflexible mental agility. As such, it is probably just best for me to go back to avoiding any discussion with you, as it brings out the worst in me.

If the “name” thing captures very little New Testament focus in the context of the present discussion, then it is a sidebar and not all that important.

It was a sidebar comment, Rick, and I didn’t make it the focus of discussion… I’m no longer in the discussion, though, so no worries about cats or frogs, etc…

It continues to be my contention that the New Testament must be the foundation for all discussions about the Old Testament. If the “name” thing captures very little New Testament focus in the context of the present discussion, then it is a sidebar and not all that important.