Reflections after lamb chops and wine

At first reading of Bro. Vernon's missive this morning (over bacon and eggs) I felt swayed by his thoughtful reply to Bro. Joseph, and still after a 'very' hot afternoon in the vineyard, I find his reasoning to be persuasive, yet ... after supper (lamb chops) some of the brothers gathered round the Macintosh and began questioning this and that and before long I had to pull the plug. Now that the others have retreated, I'll try to raise their concerns.

Bro. Theo questioned his depiction of Christ 'the Son', noting that Bro. Vernon seems to be depicting Christ the 'Holy Spirit'. Bro. Theo reasons that Christ the Son should be thought of as 'Christ the Man.' Christ the Man was born, lived and died on this earth. Christ the Son/Man was God's only way to experience the experiences of His creation: man. And as 'Man-in-Christ' God gained firsthand knowledge that He, God of the Universe, could never have obtained. In Christ, God the Creator experienced the laughing, crying, feeling, hurting, loving, hating -- all that makes us humans. God the Creator could never have felt those 'limiting' feeling of us humans if it were not for Jesus -- God made flesh.

I'm sure some may have as hard a time in following Bro. Theo's thoughts as I have. But after re-thinking his thoughts, I think I'm beginning to get his drift. What do you think? Well, before I forget, let me add Bro. Juniper's comments.

Bro. Juniper thought that Bro. Vernon placed this in the wrong category, saying: "The Son represents God with a Face ... in the mugshot faces of friends and strangers wherever we go." Bro. Juniper felt this should be in the "Holy Spirit" category. He put it in these words, saying: "The Holy Spirit is the invisible, uncomprehending, love that can be 'seen' in the actions and feelings of those around us. The Holy Spirit is 'God the Invisible' that CAN communicate with that 'little voice' we all possess in our heads. That 'little voice' in our heads that never quits commenting, fretting, detracting, analyzing, and even rearranging our thoughts." Bro. Juniper believes that God, the Holy Spirit, can enter into 'dialogue' with that 'little voice'.

And finally, to Bro. Vernon's statement, "I think a reverent agnostic will likely appear on Judgement Day with better credentials than most of the rest of us." -- Bro. Sedwick added, "So, after creating his 'cut-and-paste' Bible, I suppose this means we'll be in company with our founding sceptic, Thomas Jefferson." Please forgive Bro. Sedwick for his frankness, for that's his nature.

Shalom,
Bro. Bartleby