[B-Greek] LOGIKOS - again...

waldo slusher waldoslusher at yahoo.com
Sat Jan 10 16:10:17 EST 2004


I wrote...

> > The question this raises is whether or not Romans
> 12
> > or 1 Peter fit this sense. And having brought this
> to
> > our attention, I would now say that 1 Peter is a
> > potential candidate for this meaning, while Romans
> 12
> > is not, since I think the service Paul has in mind
> > here is one all too real. <snip>

Mike comments... 

> Do you mean 'real' literally <chuckle>.  That is, do
> you mean that we
> are to literally sacrifice our bodies?  Well,
> obviously not and forgive
> me for this attempt at humor.

I did find this humorous! But many of truths are
uttered in jest.

Let me add also this: As a lexical rule, no word has a
"literal" meaning. Words have semantic ranges that can
vary quite drastically, and without the aide of a
context, no word has meaning. Before you ask if a word
is to be taken "literally," you need to first select
one of its many meanings.

I think what Mike has done here is zero in on one, and
only one, of the many and varied meanings of
"sacrifice." And then, after arbirarily choosing a
particular meaning, a meaning that is contextless,
asks if I meant a "literal" sacrifice. (Well, Mike,
what do you mean by "sacrifice?" Are you referring to
a literal sacrifice fly in baseball, or literally
giving up something sacrifically, or literally cutting
the throat of a goat, or are your referring to my
literally sacrificing my left arm to save my right, or
are you referring to a literal sacrificial place, or
are you referring to my literally sacrificing my
priceless Rembrandt for an old car, or etc.....)

Well, the answer to that question is yes and no. Yes,
if you allow sacrifice to function as any other word
in the Greek language, and No, if you limit sacrifice
to cutting an animal's throat. 

Paul informs us just which sacrifice he had in mind,
namely, one that is "alive, holy, and pleasing to
God." And yes, I believe Paul meant this literally.

=====
Waldo Slusher
Calgary, AB

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