Comments on Antipelagian: Thoughts on Abram Rejecting the Gifts of the King ...

Rob, I'm not sure I'd say that Christ inde...

2010-03-15T10:40:43.667-04:00

Rob,
I'm not sure I'd say that Christ indebted Himself to the woman at the well. I don't want to discount the notion that God accepts our works and reward us.

The thrust of the encounter was that the woman was a Samaritan, someone a Jew would not acknowledge, let alone share water with. Here we see the Incarnate God condescending and showing that the Gospel goes out to sinners...and sinners who are the outcasts.

John 4:9-10 Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

This is just another example to me of how there is...

2010-03-13T13:45:16.058-05:00

This is just another example to me of how there is nothing new under the sun. Historically, we see this attitude of "God owes me one" in the Roman Catholic idea of Indulgences, a practice that originated with the financing of a church building.

This is an interesting point and I'd have to t...

2010-03-13T07:51:40.005-05:00

This is an interesting point and I'd have to think about this.

But here's another thought, and this isn't necessarily in disagreement but at least a counterbalance to a complex picture. Jesus accepted water from the woman at the well and put himself in debt (hospitality wise) to a faithless person. Course this wasn't a large contribution by the world's standards of a person who was successful by the world's standards but a small token of kindness from someone of humble (shameful) standing in the community.