Penny for your thoughts?

[kaminomusume]

I was thinking about this as I drove home from work tonight, and wanted to see how others reacted. I presume that not everyone here is from the same denominational background, and not everyone grew up studying Scripture (Perhaps there is someone reading this who isn't Christian at all). With that in mind, I'm not looking for "The Answer", I simply

Comments

[log_junkie]

My thoughts are that you should read what many theologians have said on this subject before you can understand the fullness of your conclusion.

[kaminomusume]

...are you saying that the average reader should not express a tentative thought until they have researched the opinions of theologians? Or are you saying that I need to go research? I do not believe I ever expressed my conclusion on the matter. And yes, that was deliberate. I've been reading what theologians have to say for many years now, I'm not new to this. My apologies, but I'm merely interested in seeing how people feel about, and respond to, this way of questioning.

[napoleonofnerds]

Therefore the fallacy of equivocation is bad. We are not Christ's body as a man and wife are one flesh, even though marriage is (among other things) an icon of the relationship between Christ and the Church. I'm not married, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that being in communion with the Church, whether institutionally or not, is a very different experience to the unity of man and wife. The most telling sign that no conclusion can be drawn from these facts is that it omits the plain witness of scripture that the Church is both the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ

[kaminomusume]

Yes, I know the "if A than B" arguments are absolutely riddled with flaws. I tip my hat to you. "no conclusion can be drawn" indeed! Not to worry, I'm not a Mormon.
Thank you much! ^_^ Appreciated the metaphysics argument.

Logic: symbolism ignores it

[napoleonofnerds]

I was really only talking about the metaphysics for logic, but there are potentially logical arguments about the symbolism in the ground I alluded to about the Church being both Body and Bride.

[susannah]

We may not become *all* of who God is but we may still become part of the One as God shares even God's own awareness with us

[pastorlenny]

Hey, don't call me a ho!

[alasthai]

"Theosis ("deification," "divinization") is the process of a worshiper becoming free of hamartía ("missing the mark"), being united with God" (emphasis added)

I should, however, point out that theosis is indeed a process, like a marriage, not an event completed in a moment, like a wedding.

[karcy]

Beautiful.

[martiancyclist]

Right; through God's grace, we, collectively, will gradually participate in the life of the Trinity. This will take an infinite amount of time to fully realize, but that's exactly what Eternity is.

[thehonorableryu]

A man and his wife are regarded as "one flesh" but that doesn't mean that they ever cease to be distinct persons. A husband is still a husband (and not the wife) and a wife is still a wife (and not the husband). If all distinction in personality were eliminated, intimacy and love between spouses would not be possible, for there would be just one person. Nevertheless, they are to be intimately one, sharing the same life and living