Haase_UZ_x007E_DTh (2).pdf - South African Theological Seminary

with relativism, pluralism and no absolutes. There no longer remains good and evil, there
is only something in-between that is neither. This compromise ethos is also at the heart
of the Eastern religions, and to no small degree present in postmodern eclecticism. These
and other pluralists take the middle ground between good and evil, embracing the
lukewarmness Jesus specifically warned us of:
I know your works, that you are neither cold
nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.
So then, because you are lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of
My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have
become wealthy, and have need of nothing’
-- and do not know that you are wretched,
miserable, poor, blind, and naked -- I counsel
you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire,
that you may be rich; and white garments,
that you may be clothed, that the shame of
your nakedness may not be revealed; and
anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you
may see (Rev. 3:15-18).
The concept of antithesis is as basic as creation itself. Consider for example, the
God-established dichotomy between light and dark. “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’
and there was light. And God saw the light, which it was good; and God divided the light
from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the
evening and the morning were the first day” (Gen. 1:3-5; cf., 14-19). Another is this:
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt
loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned It
is then good for nothing but to be thrown out
and trampled underfoot by men. You are the
light of the world. A city that is set on a hill
cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp
and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand,
and it gives light to all who are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they
may see your good works and glorify your
Father in heaven. Do not think that I came to
destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not
come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly,
I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away,
one jot or one tittle will by no means pass
from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever
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University of Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa