Gray Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 (edited) 8 hours ago, Bernard Gui said: A good book no doubt, but as opposed to Jesus the Christ, anything by BH Roberts, Truman Madsen, or Hugh Nibley, The Articles of Faith and Marvelous Work and a Wonder, the published collected talks of so many great General Authorities, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, The New Testament, etc., etc., etc.? You know, all those stale-air oldy-moldies. I think it was a good theological refutation (in a nice way) of The Miracle of Forgiveness. Edited June 21, 2018 by Gray
Rain Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 8 hours ago, Bernard Gui said: A good book no doubt, but as opposed to Jesus the Christ, anything by BH Roberts, Truman Madsen, or Hugh Nibley, The Articles of Faith and Marvelous Work and a Wonder, the published collected talks of so many great General Authorities, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, The New Testament, etc., etc., etc.? You know, all those stale-air oldy-moldies. When I read it about 15 years ago I wondered what the big deal was. I began to realize that many people were not getting the concepts in all those books you mention, either because they were not reading them or were missing them when reading the books. I'm grateful to have the book available because it touches some people in a way that nothing else has. 3
Scott Lloyd Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Gray said: I think it was a good theological refutation (in a nice way) of The Miracle of Forgiveness. It has been a while since I have read either book but they have never struck me as being incompatible, certainly not as one being a refutation of the other. Edited June 21, 2018 by Scott Lloyd
JLHPROF Posted June 21, 2018 Author Posted June 21, 2018 4 hours ago, Rain said: Quote A good book no doubt, but as opposed to Jesus the Christ, anything by BH Roberts, Truman Madsen, or Hugh Nibley, The Articles of Faith and Marvelous Work and a Wonder, the published collected talks of so many great General Authorities, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, The New Testament, etc., etc., etc.? You know, all those stale-air oldy-moldies. When I read it about 15 years ago I wondered what the big deal was. I began to realize that many people were not getting the concepts in all those books you mention, either because they were not reading them or were missing them when reading the books. I'm grateful to have the book available because it touches some people in a way that nothing else has. Approach matters. Most books I have read on the atonement such as the ones Bernard listed take a very legalistic approach. We sin -> we repent -> we do better -> forgiveness is granted -> the atonement pays the price. Believing Christ is different because it really put the focus on our inability to perfectly repent. It emphasized grace, the ongoing process of repentance and our continual inability to overcome every weakness. It really hit on "after all we can do". Yes, these things were in other places but Believing Christ was the first one I'd read that taught reliance on the Savior's perfection during our slow progress instead of simply as a payment for our errors. 1
bluebell Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 30 minutes ago, JLHPROF said: Approach matters. Most books I have read on the atonement such as the ones Bernard listed take a very legalistic approach. We sin -> we repent -> we do better -> forgiveness is granted -> the atonement pays the price. Believing Christ is different because it really put the focus on our inability to perfectly repent. It emphasized grace, the ongoing process of repentance and our continual inability to overcome every weakness. It really hit on "after all we can do". Yes, these things were in other places but Believing Christ was the first one I'd read that taught reliance on the Savior's perfection during our slow progress instead of simply as a payment for our errors. Yes, I think it was Robinson's focus on 'after all we can do' and our inability to do anything perfectly, even repent, that made the book so different. So many church members believe that they have to reach a level of righteous on their own before Christ's Atonement can be applied to their sins. Christ's mercy has always been there and has always been a part of the teachings of the church, but Robinson made the mercy of Christ easier to see for a lot of people. 1
rockpond Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 Condolences to his family. Sad to lose him so young. I loved his book, Believing Christ, as well.
Rain Posted June 21, 2018 Posted June 21, 2018 3 hours ago, JLHPROF said: Approach matters. Most books I have read on the atonement such as the ones Bernard listed take a very legalistic approach. We sin -> we repent -> we do better -> forgiveness is granted -> the atonement pays the price. Believing Christ is different because it really put the focus on our inability to perfectly repent. It emphasized grace, the ongoing process of repentance and our continual inability to overcome every weakness. It really hit on "after all we can do". Yes, these things were in other places but Believing Christ was the first one I'd read that taught reliance on the Savior's perfection during our slow progress instead of simply as a payment for our errors. Yes. That came naturally for me in the other books so it took years for me to understand that other people didn't understand that. Teaching the basics on my mission helped me solidify that even more. I'm afraid I wasn't very patient with some members because of my lack of understanding about what others were getting. That's why I am grateful for the book. It's funny how we can understand one spiritual concept and be totally ignorant on others like I have been on other things. There is a reason the church meets together oft - to help us get those concepts we have missed along the way. 2
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