Are you comparing the Bible to a drivers manual?
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
In a message dated 1/28/2005 5:36:07 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
To reduce this to a few easy to understand words, John, you seem to be saying that you do not have the ability to recognize truth by yourself. I realize that when cut down to the basics, this sounds less than kind, but that is not what I am saying about you. It is what I hear you saying about yourself. We all suffer from this shortcoming to one degree or another, and we all have our own methods of dealing with our shortcomings. Yours seems to be to seek the opinions of authors and friends, while mine is to dig deeper into the Bible. You find that your way works to some degree. I find that my Lord will give me all I can grasp at the proper time. When my cup is full, He allows me to digest that which He has given, then He pours out more. His timing is perfect. I do not yet have all truth, but I am confident that I am headed in the right direction. What I do have in the way of truth gives me confidence to share what I believe with others. Put another way, I can tell them what I believe instead of asking them what I should believe. I believe that my way, in this instance, is better than yours, and humbly suggest you try it.
Terry
I appreciate the spirit in which the above is written. Not a communality on TT. Much appreciated. I really do not want this to be about me, but what I actually said. In the above, you have a point of view that explains at least three passages of scriptures referred in my text. If you came into my library, you would a set on books on the shelf that get used on a daily basis -- they are greek grammars, four or five greek interlinears, the Greek New Testament (which contains a critical analysis of many problematic phrases and words of the N.T. scripture), several gk-english lexicons, Kittles 9 volume greek word studies, and a host of other related material. My point? These are the books I use -- not commentaries. I have listened for nearly a year, now, to a few, a very few, charge me with being somewhat mindless in ability and dysfunctional in my search techniques -- when, in fact, the very opposite is true. When was the last time anyone member of the opposition spent hours studying a single greek nuance. When was the last time someone read every pertinent biblical passage on a given subject (yes, I do use a concordance - Young's). There is absolutely no one on this forum who is more concerned about or spends more time in study of the biblical message. Not one person. Your quote " I can tell them what I believe instead of asking them what I should believe" is not something I view as desirable -- in terms of being a truth seeker.
Did you learn your trade by simply reading a book? Have you become a caring husband via the same process? Driving a car? Learning to walk -- Terry the Sufficient learning to walk on his own. Terry -- there is nothing that you know in this life that has come your way apart from your association with others. AND, you are no more a full blown student of the Word than I -- that is something that I do know.
But more importantly -- let's go to the very scriptures you say you study more than I:
Community is ordained by God through Christ (apostles and the like) and is such "for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the truth (we need each other BY DIVINE APPOINT, Terry) and of the knowledge of the Son of God (yes, Judy, He remains the Son even after He is "gone'), to a mature man (something that is not yet a reality), to the measure of the stature which belongs to fulness of Christ .......... but speaking the truth in love (TO EACH OTHER) we are to grow up in all respects into Him , who is the head, even Christ" (Eph 4:12-15).
From a pastoral point of view, this discussion reveals a certain immaturity that (a) hard to impossible to admit on this forum and (b) a problem for us all.
There is nothing that I believe that is not grounded in scripture. Nothing. Do I have room for group -- yes. Is that easy to admit? Well, there are certainly others on TT who simply cannot go that route.
John
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