to the truthsetsyoufree......
"Next, the Gospels were essentially eye-witness accounts by the
Apostles. So the Apostles documented everything they saw and heard
and wrote them down from memory.
Since the Gospels could not be written as a story, fable or
allegory by any person living in that era, and since the
Gospels were eye-witness accounts, the Gospels are true and
real."
http://bible.cc/luke/7-39.htm
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within
himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known
who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is
a sinner. (KJV)
Could the author of Luke read minds? Hmmm...
I forsee the apologist saying: Look at the NIV....the
NRSV....they say: "Said to himself..."
http://scripturetext.com/luke/7-39.htm
Ahem....heres the original GREEK text.
"<< Luke 7:39 >>
Now when the
Pharisee which had bidden him saw it he spake within himself saying This man if he were a prophet
__ would have known who and what
manner of woman
this is that toucheth
him for she is a
sinner."
Which historian reads minds?
This omniscient dictation of events clearly points towards a
form of storytelling.
xaraikex
In a sense, you are right when you say that the Gospels is a
"form of storytelling." Most, including some Christians themselves,
may not be aware of the fact that the Gospels were not written
first despite their initial sequential positions in the New
Testament. The Gospels were actually written a couple of decades
after Jesus Christ's resurrection and ascension. Therefore the
early Christians could only rely on the apostles' epistles (such as
Romans, Peter, James etc.) as prescriptive documents of
spiritual authority which provide guidance and insights on how to
live a life pleasing unto God.
In Jesus' time, most were illiterate. And the oral tradition was
still prevalent and strong --- in other words, most teachings and
doctrines would be passed from mouth to mouth across generations.
But the apostles decided that a literary form of documentation
ought to be established for future generations of Christians as a
form of remembrance (kind of like the Lord's Supper/Communion?). So
besides the oral tradition, there is also the written tradition of
the Gospels so that the "story" or account of Jesus Christ will not
be lost but preserved till the end of the ages.
Now, does this mean that the Gospels are a "form of
storytelling?" I cannot decide. This also depends on how you define
a "story" and "storytelling."
Throughout the New Testament, the apostles often affirm and
reaffirm their status as eye-witnesses of Jesus Christ, who saw and
touched and heard and spoke to Jesus Christ. This will imply, quite
obviously and naturally, that the Gospels are also an eye-wtiness
account of the "story" of Jesus Christ.
In a sense, we should not and must not doubt that the Gospels
are a documentation of what the disciples saw and heard. The entire
idea behind the Gospels being written by apostles (Matthew &
John) or disciples of the apostles (Mark & Luke) is
precisely the fact that they themselves had first hand experience
and encounter of Jesus Christ and hence their accounts would be
accurate etc. Otherwise, it may appear inconsistent or irrelevant
that the apostles would spend considerable amount of effort
convincing and reminding the early Christians that they were
eye-witnesses of Jesus Christ and thus authenticate their authority
to spread the Gospels through their epistles.
Having said that, I must not deny that I know nothing about
Biblical Greek. I cannot provide a scholarly response to your
reference to Strong's Greek. Having said that, based on Strong's
Greek, the following is what I have found out:
"within" in Greek is en
en denotes a fixed state, intermediate between
eis and ek
eis is a preposition that describes a motion,
an arrival
ek is a preposition that describes a motion, a
departure
since en is intermediate between
eis and ek, en
can refer to being still and stationary
"saying" in Greek is lego
lego is a verb that may mean relate in
words
lego also has other comparisons such as:
1. epo means to say by word or writing
2. rheo means to speak or command or "pour
forth"
3. laleo means to utter or preach
4. phemi means to show or make known one's
thoughts
the above 4 comparisons suggest that lego means
to relate verbally, particularly phemi
if we look at Luke 7: 39 again,
"he spake within (en) himself saying
(lego)" could possibly be translated to "he
muttered to himself" or perhaps "he thought to himself out
loud"
en, as mentioned above, suggests motionless,
being still and stationary. In this case, no words are moved or
conveyed or transmitted to an audience except the Pharisee
himself, and thus it is intermediate between eis
and ek, which means that his words are not meant
to arrive to another person or audience because his words never
left himself. In other words, the Pharisee's words are meant for
himself --- he is his own audience, and thus the words remain
motionless, still and stationary. His words did not leave him to
arrive at another person or audience.
lego probably suggests speech or utterance that
can be heard because all other 4 comparisons (epo, rheo,
laleo & phemi) suggest verbal and audible
expressions.
So this is why I propose that "he said to himself" or even
"muttered to himself" or "thought out loud" are possible
translations.
-------
May all struggling homosexuals continue to persevere and fight a
good fight of faith, and find help and hope in God.
http://thetruthsetsyoufree.wordpress.com