Fox, NLT translation.
'Ello folk! (mostly Cow, since this blog is going to be very very under the radar) Glad to see you tonight, the night of THE PACT. *dun dun duuuuuuun* I figured I might as well get a head start on this tonight so that I don't forget by Friday, so here goes just about nothing!
In case you happen to just stumble upon this blog and start reading, I like thoughts and I tend to bunny trail a LOT. There will be many long winded ideas that are spun off of a verse, a phrase, or a word.
For example: I got stuck at verse 4 where it says that 'He was proven to be the Son of God by being raised from the dead by the Holy Spirit.' Mind you, it doesn't say that it was by the endless miracles that he performed, nor by the fact that demons hid their tails while he was around (since none of that was convincing enough) but it was because he DIED and ROSE from the deal that got it through our thick skulls. A lot of times I wonder, "Well, God of all of Time and Space... why couldn't there have been a different way? You created this system. You wrote the rules." And I believe the only intelligent answer I've ever heard to this question begs another: What else would have gotten the point across? I know a lot of people would write it off as horrible and a shallow reason for a horrendous murder, but if you stop and think about it, honestly nothing else was getting through to them, was it? God's law, God's love, God's mercy, and the depth of how much we screwed up... how would you have explained that? Actions speak louder than words, after all.
In regards to verses 10-15: Paul's life sounds kind of awesome to me right now. Travel around, meet the locals, trade spiritual power-ups with the churches you're visiting, fill up each other's tanks, see the fruit of the ministry, and then keep going and spreading the good news. Does this sound ideal to anyone else? Sure he's been threatened a lot, but it still sounds amazing.
Since the last solid half of the chapter is describing the fall of man, let's look at that a bit, hmm? So Paul begins with the fact that people should have SEEN God's creation and therefore worshiped Him through that simple fact. He then goes on to describe all of the idols they made and grotesque acts they committed, but here's the question: If someone had stuck to worshiping The Creator, plain and simple, how can they be damned for making false idols? And how much could this person be held accountable for the immoral acts they did if the very culture they grew up in told them that this was the norm? Do you think God will judge the WestBurrow children for marching in those parades or growing up to spit out the lies of their families? Alright, this is a post-new-covenant example, but do you see what I'm saying? Would it have been possible to have been a heathen Yhwh worshiper without knowing His name? I honestly still struggle with this question in modern times, but that's another rant for another day.
Well, thanks for hanging in there with me! I'm really looking forward to this project and can't wait to see where it goes :D Fox out!
End Romans Ch. 1
