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God's Word | our words | meaning, communication, & technology | following Jesus, the Word made flesh |
Goals
Formal representation of the principles Jesus taught his disciples.
What is a principle? Something that is timeless, independent of circumstance or situation, true for all hearers (whether they agree with it or not). Something like a law in the domain of science and nature.
Propositional Content
Focus on linguistic content, without inference. Important to consider the cultural context in which the words were spoken.
Orthodox
Assume the Lordship of Jesus and the authority of his teaching, as well as the Scriptures in general. No attempt to second-guess the Gospels and set the church that transmitted his words against his "genuine" words themselves (a la the Jesus Seminar).
An Aid for Learning: Not a Replacement
No abstraction can replace the value of Jesus' words themselves: that's not my goal. In no sense are these "everything" Jesus taught.
Referenced to the CGI
Principles, Not Application
what is generally intended for his disciples to understand and do, based on our record of what He taught
No attempt to unpack "love one another" into how that principle is applied in our daily lives. Goal is to capture it and express it at approximately the same level of detail as Jesus' words recorded in the Gospels
Jesus' Own Words
Not what John the Baptist said about Him, or Paul, or others. These will come later.
Copyright 2004 sean boisen
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