Fred the Jew writes:
Sir,
I actually downloaded a video of your father discussing a theological issue with John Ankerberg. I had the following reactions:
1. It looks like your father’s entire professional life is wrapped up in theology. Is that so?
2. Is your conversion to Judaism an act of rebellion?
3. Your father and Ankerberg were discussing some arcane issue of theology. Apparently there is some passage in the book of Daniel what someone interpreted as predicting that at some time Christ would move from one location in heaven to another location in heaven to evaluate whether humans really merited salvation. It really sounds like "angels dancing on the head of a pin" type theology, and struck me as the sort of thing that was hard to take seriously. How much of your Dad’s work is like that?
4. Do you and your Dad ever discuss theology?
BTW, I see the resemblance between you and your Dad.
I was referring to the physical resemblance. As for theological resemblance, since he is a devout Protestant who believes in the trinity, that Christ died, went to hell and was resurrected as part of a plan of salvation, and that all believers (but only believers) are saved, I suppose there are probably not many theological similarities between you and him.
BTW, I am about 85% done with reading the Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church. A lapsed Catholic friend of mine (who is now very anti-Catholic) gave it to me. My lapsed Catholic friend lost all religious faith when the priests told him that masturbation was a sin.
The entire idea of the trinity strikes me as an "angels dancing on the head of a pin" type doctrine. It has no practical meaning.
Second, the idea that someone had to be crucified to save everyone else does not sound like a reasonable belief. The omnipotent God does not have to do things like that. He could simply save believers without any sort of crucifiction.
Third, the idea of Christ dying does not make any sense. The entire idea of "dying" is its permanence. If I am in a coma, and wake up 3 days later, I was never dead. If someone is going to wake up, by definition he was never dead. It is impossible to kill God (or for that matter, one of his three component parts).
BTW, Christ apparently said to one of the thieves with whom he was crucified that he and the thief will be in paradise that day. Yet Christ apparently descended into hell after crucifiction. How could he have been with the thief that day in paradise?
My dad’s entire life is devoted to theology (Jesus Christ, transmitting the mechanics of salvation, preparing for the world to come, etc).
Yes, my conversion to Judaism was an act of rebellion. It was much more than that too.
The mechanics of the Heavenly Sanctuary is not important (and not even comprehensible) to non-believers but the essence of the discussion is readily understandable — choseness. Every group believes it is specially chosen and unless you believe your group is specially chosen, you and your offspring will drift out of it.
