Are We Too Smart for Our Own Good?

TraceMalin

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If we are born again - Yes.

But because we love him we will want to be sanctified but that is not to be 'more saved' but rather more available.

I think sometimes, we, as Christians, forget that each one of us has a unique relationship with God. Much of the New Testament is directed toward leadership. People sometimes feel a sense of guilt if their calling isn't to study, learn and lead. Accepting salvation doesn't seem to be enough. But, God has a plan for all of us. Some more. Some less. Even someone like Whitney Houston who struggled with addiction and sin may have been God's voice in a critical ear and opened the door for someone to come to Christ.
 
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Carl Emerson

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Yes, totally agree.

By the way my son is a volunteer fire fighter and I guess some of the skills for being in burning buildings at crazy high temperatures with breathing gear would be sinilar to what you have learned?
 
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lsume

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When I started college, I was a disgruntled 18 year-old who was unhappy that I wasn't in the US Army where I belonged. My mother was a college professor who had free tuition benefits for her kids. My dad, a former US Marine, said the only thing being a paratrooper would get me was 3 hots, a cot, and a broken ankle. My parents convinced me to go to college and then I could become an officer. So, there I was as a psychology major because the green berets were also a unit that employed psychological warfare.

My first philosophy class dealt with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Wow! I loved philosophy. I loved history of the ancient world. Growing up in a Christian home, I also loved religious studies classes. I was a Protestant so it was almost culture shock to be taught by nuns and priests getting used to hearing, "the Blessed Mother," and other distinctly Catholic terminology. My father had been Roman Catholic, but we only attended my mother's Methodist then Presbyterian churches.

I developed very close relationships with my professors in English, philosophy, and religious studies. I changed my major to English then stayed from 1986 to 1993 earning degrees in all three disciplines. My mind was hungry and on fire to learn from professors and challenge them back in an exciting academic environment.

According to the Principle of Primacy, the things learned first are retained the most. I remember more about Plato's Apology than I do about Immanuel Kant. I remember more about Jesus from Sunday School than I do from a 400 level class in Jesus and the Early Church.

I enjoyed the wisdom and simplicity of the Greek philosophers. These were the elite of their time. Yet, they were not at a Kantian level. The Greeks were the ones to whom Paul brought Christ. Paul was the Ph.D. of his time. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke to the poorly educated. His own disciples were often confused by his teachings and parables which seem obvious to us today. Yet, God chose these fishermen, tax collectors, and others to teach the message of salvation instead of the most learned temple priests, judges, or rabbis. Their words were easily understood by shepherds, laborers, craftsmen, soldiers, mothers, and others who didn't study the Tanakh in a formal way.

The message of the "Good News" is meant for all -- even the little children, so that all who hear may choose to come to Jesus. Yet, 2000 years of Western civilization, Catholic political reign in Europe, Protestant reformers, pulpits of preachers, ratings of televangelists, and writings of scholars have found the great theological minds and the worst mega-church motivational speakers in disagreement. As the Bible is scoured and dissected to find a more truthful truth, modern intellectualism leaves Christians worried they may not be saved enough. Bible study is important, but so is the simplicity of salvation. How do we overcome our obfuscation of a message even a child can understand as we seek to grow in knowledge? Do we spend too much time looking for deeper meaning rather than reading simple stories in simple context? Christianity began as an oral tradition. Early Christians were unburdened by Bible study and rejoiced in a simple faith often learned by listening only once to Peter. A shepherd could return the fields or a soldier to his cohort forever changed and at peace in his heart.
If you have prayed about and studied Paul’s trials in trying to get the Greek philosophers to Truly accept Christ as their personal Saviour, you would know of his great frustration in so doing. I attended a major university to get my B.S in mechanical engineering. I was about 6 weeks into static’s class after our first exam as I recall. I was standing out in the hall when another student approached our hurried professor to complain about his grade on the test. I could hear everything that was being said by both the professor and the student. Apparently he had made a D or an F on the exam and told the professor that both of his parents had PhD’s. The static’s professor ask him in what field of study they had received their PhD’s in to which he replied psychology. At that response the static’s professor said to the student, tell your parents that passing statics is harder than getting a PhD in Psychology. The truth of this story should be sobering. Read about savants and post trauma savants. These people are able to do incredible things after a head trauma for example. However they were never formally educated in their newfound gifts. At least one such example is a man who suffered a head trauma and was suddenly able to sit and play classical piano. As I currently recall, that man is a classical pianist today. We don’t know how such amazing things happen but we do know that they are walking miracles. None of this has been written to hurt you in any way. I’m trying to give you a different perspective on philosophy and debate. Their is no room for any debate about the saving Grace of The Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul was exceedingly frustrated at the heady or high minded attitudes of the Greeks. Surely you have met those who enjoy debating The Word while never intending to receive it.
 
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TraceMalin

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Yes, totally agree.

By the way my son is a volunteer fire fighter and I guess some of the skills for being in burning buildings at crazy high temperatures with breathing gear would be sinilar to what you have learned?

LOL! Hardly. Your son has an intense physically demanding job. Cave diving is a relaxing finesse sport. Trying to get guys who break through walls and doors for a living, like special forces and firefighters, to find their inner mellow hippie is the hard part.
 
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TraceMalin

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If you have prayed about and studied Paul’s trials in trying to get the Greek philosophers to Truly accept Christ as their personal Saviour, you would know of his great frustration in so doing. I attended a major university to get my B.S in mechanical engineering. I was about 6 weeks into static’s class after our first exam as I recall. I was standing out in the hall when another student approached our hurried professor to complain about his grade on the test. I could hear everything that was being said by both the professor and the student. Apparently he had made a D or an F on the exam and told the professor that both of his parents had PhD’s. The static’s professor ask him in what field of study they had received their PhD’s in to which he replied psychology. At that response the static’s professor said to the student, tell your parents that passing statics is harder than getting a PhD in Psychology. The truth of this story should be sobering. Read about savants and post trauma savants. These people are able to do incredible things after a head trauma for example. However they were never formally educated in their newfound gifts. At least one such example is a man who suffered a head trauma and was suddenly able to sit and play classical piano. As I currently recall, that man is a classical pianist today. We don’t know how such amazing things happen but we do know that they are walking miracles. None of this has been written to hurt you in any way. I’m trying to give you a different perspective on philosophy and debate. Their is no room for any debate about the saving Grace of The Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul was exceedingly frustrated at the heady or high minded attitudes of the Greeks. Surely you have met those who enjoy debating The Word while never intending to receive it.

Isn't it interesting that Jesus had the patience of a saint, while Paul did not? Perhaps, our well-known idiom is misplaced?
 
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lsume

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Isn't it interesting that Jesus had the patience of a saint, while Paul did not? Perhaps, our well-known idiom is misplaced?
As I recall, the disciples were specifically told not to venture into Asia to share The Gospel at that time. Many are called but few are chosen is a hard Truth.
 
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timewerx

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When I started college, I was a disgruntled 18 year-old who was unhappy that I wasn't in the US Army where I belonged. My mother was a college professor who had free tuition benefits for her kids. My dad, a former US Marine, said the only thing being a paratrooper would get me was 3 hots, a cot, and a broken ankle. My parents convinced me to go to college and then I could become an officer. So, there I was as a psychology major because the green berets were also a unit that employed psychological warfare.

My first philosophy class dealt with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Wow! I loved philosophy. I loved history of the ancient world. Growing up in a Christian home, I also loved religious studies classes. I was a Protestant so it was almost culture shock to be taught by nuns and priests getting used to hearing, "the Blessed Mother," and other distinctly Catholic terminology. My father had been Roman Catholic, but we only attended my mother's Methodist then Presbyterian churches.

I developed very close relationships with my professors in English, philosophy, and religious studies. I changed my major to English then stayed from 1986 to 1993 earning degrees in all three disciplines. My mind was hungry and on fire to learn from professors and challenge them back in an exciting academic environment.

According to the Principle of Primacy, the things learned first are retained the most. I remember more about Plato's Apology than I do about Immanuel Kant. I remember more about Jesus from Sunday School than I do from a 400 level class in Jesus and the Early Church.

I enjoyed the wisdom and simplicity of the Greek philosophers. These were the elite of their time. Yet, they were not at a Kantian level. The Greeks were the ones to whom Paul brought Christ. Paul was the Ph.D. of his time. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke to the poorly educated. His own disciples were often confused by his teachings and parables which seem obvious to us today. Yet, God chose these fishermen, tax collectors, and others to teach the message of salvation instead of the most learned temple priests, judges, or rabbis. Their words were easily understood by shepherds, laborers, craftsmen, soldiers, mothers, and others who didn't study the Tanakh in a formal way.

The message of the "Good News" is meant for all -- even the little children, so that all who hear may choose to come to Jesus. Yet, 2000 years of Western civilization, Catholic political reign in Europe, Protestant reformers, pulpits of preachers, ratings of televangelists, and writings of scholars have found the great theological minds and the worst mega-church motivational speakers in disagreement. As the Bible is scoured and dissected to find a more truthful truth, modern intellectualism leaves Christians worried they may not be saved enough. Bible study is important, but so is the simplicity of salvation. How do we overcome our obfuscation of a message even a child can understand as we seek to grow in knowledge? Do we spend too much time looking for deeper meaning rather than reading simple stories in simple context? Christianity began as an oral tradition. Early Christians were unburdened by Bible study and rejoiced in a simple faith often learned by listening only once to Peter. A shepherd could return the fields or a soldier to his cohort forever changed and at peace in his heart.

I'll just answer you based on the title of your topic. I'm assuming, it's the same message.

My honest opinion and observation is this: I think we're too ignorant for our own good.

The reason we disagree on so many things is we tend to limit our view into a very narrow field.

Many people, once they choose a certain principle, or religion, or belief, everything else opposed or contrary is automatically assumed to be errant, blasphemy, heresy.

It becomes a matter of who promotes their beliefs the best..... An advertising competition by showing off the "goods" and very often, money and "Hollywood Underdog Ethics" becomes a strong deciding factor.

What if you joined the "wrong team" then you'll be stuck in it. Like letting yourself in a cage and locking it and making sure nobody gets you out...Absurd isn't it?

"Like the waves of sea going where the wind blows" having no mind of it's own.....

This is what you call a "boxed thinking" and this is a huge problem..... It isn't just a problem in religion but in science as well. Science pioneers and innovators are also often persecuted because everyone else has boxed thinking.
 
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Yarddog

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You wouldn't happen to be related to Brett Malin, would you?

What you're asking is the reason I became Orthodox. I just got tired of overthinking my Christianity.
There is tremendous difference between a man speaking or writing while employing the wisdom of the world and a man speaking or writing while employing the wisdom of God's Holy Spirit.

Both are like fishermen who cast their nets into the sea and pull in their nets full of fish. The one catches those eager for worldly ways while the other pulls in his net with those God has called.
 
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fhansen

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When I started college, I was a disgruntled 18 year-old who was unhappy that I wasn't in the US Army where I belonged. My mother was a college professor who had free tuition benefits for her kids. My dad, a former US Marine, said the only thing being a paratrooper would get me was 3 hots, a cot, and a broken ankle. My parents convinced me to go to college and then I could become an officer. So, there I was as a psychology major because the green berets were also a unit that employed psychological warfare.

My first philosophy class dealt with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Wow! I loved philosophy. I loved history of the ancient world. Growing up in a Christian home, I also loved religious studies classes. I was a Protestant so it was almost culture shock to be taught by nuns and priests getting used to hearing, "the Blessed Mother," and other distinctly Catholic terminology. My father had been Roman Catholic, but we only attended my mother's Methodist then Presbyterian churches.

I developed very close relationships with my professors in English, philosophy, and religious studies. I changed my major to English then stayed from 1986 to 1993 earning degrees in all three disciplines. My mind was hungry and on fire to learn from professors and challenge them back in an exciting academic environment.

According to the Principle of Primacy, the things learned first are retained the most. I remember more about Plato's Apology than I do about Immanuel Kant. I remember more about Jesus from Sunday School than I do from a 400 level class in Jesus and the Early Church.

I enjoyed the wisdom and simplicity of the Greek philosophers. These were the elite of their time. Yet, they were not at a Kantian level. The Greeks were the ones to whom Paul brought Christ. Paul was the Ph.D. of his time. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke to the poorly educated. His own disciples were often confused by his teachings and parables which seem obvious to us today. Yet, God chose these fishermen, tax collectors, and others to teach the message of salvation instead of the most learned temple priests, judges, or rabbis. Their words were easily understood by shepherds, laborers, craftsmen, soldiers, mothers, and others who didn't study the Tanakh in a formal way.

The message of the "Good News" is meant for all -- even the little children, so that all who hear may choose to come to Jesus. Yet, 2000 years of Western civilization, Catholic political reign in Europe, Protestant reformers, pulpits of preachers, ratings of televangelists, and writings of scholars have found the great theological minds and the worst mega-church motivational speakers in disagreement. As the Bible is scoured and dissected to find a more truthful truth, modern intellectualism leaves Christians worried they may not be saved enough. Bible study is important, but so is the simplicity of salvation. How do we overcome our obfuscation of a message even a child can understand as we seek to grow in knowledge? Do we spend too much time looking for deeper meaning rather than reading simple stories in simple context? Christianity began as an oral tradition. Early Christians were unburdened by Bible study and rejoiced in a simple faith often learned by listening only once to Peter. A shepherd could return the fields or a soldier to his cohort forever changed and at peace in his heart.
I agree. The faith was never about this hyper-focus on Scripture, as if one need be some bible scholar in order to understand the faith when in truth individual scripture study and personal interpretation have arguably caused more division in or disagreement over Christian beliefs than any other reason. This is not about "may the best exegete win"; we cannot pick up a book such as the bible and endeavor to read and fully understand it in an environment divorced from the historical legacy that produced it. And the majority of believers down through the centuries were probably illiterate anyway. My grandmother, from a tiny rustic village in the foothills of the Italian Alps, semi-peasant and long deceased, possessed one of the simplest and most beautiful faiths I've encountered, based on what she'd been taught by the Church. And she practiced and lived her faith, rather than sitting back and arguing about faith's efficacy: whether or not anything more is needed in an endless intellectual mind-game people seem to play, primarily in considering man's justification. We over-complicate it all.

Knowledge is good. But it can become another source of pride when we idolize it.

"We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. The one who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know. But the one who loves God is known by God." 1 Cor 8
 
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The Apostle Paul was exceedingly frustrated at the heady or high minded attitudes of the Greeks. Surely you have met those who enjoy debating The Word while never intending to receive it.

It is interesting to note that many of the arguments for the existence of God are founded on the philosophy of those same Greeks. As was said we each have a unique relationship with God, but also unique talents...and some are called to engage the world of intellectual debate and reasoning.

"False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel. We may preach with all of the fervor of a reformer and yet succeed only winning a straggler here and there, if we permit the whole collective thought of the nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which, by the restless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a harmless delusion. Under such circumstances, what God desires us to do is to destroy the obstacle at its root." J. Gresham Machen
 
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lsume

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It is interesting to note that many of the arguments for the existence of God are founded on the philosophy of those same Greeks. As was said we each have a unique relationship with God, but also unique talents...and some are called to engage the world of intellectual debate and reasoning.

"False ideas are the greatest obstacles to the reception of the gospel. We may preach with all of the fervor of a reformer and yet succeed only winning a straggler here and there, if we permit the whole collective thought of the nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which, by the restless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a harmless delusion. Under such circumstances, what God desires us to do is to destroy the obstacle at its root." J. Gresham Machen
Matt.18 Verses 2 to 4


  1. [2] And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
    [3] And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
    [4] Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
 
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Kaon

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When I started college, I was a disgruntled 18 year-old who was unhappy that I wasn't in the US Army where I belonged. My mother was a college professor who had free tuition benefits for her kids. My dad, a former US Marine, said the only thing being a paratrooper would get me was 3 hots, a cot, and a broken ankle. My parents convinced me to go to college and then I could become an officer. So, there I was as a psychology major because the green berets were also a unit that employed psychological warfare.

My first philosophy class dealt with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Wow! I loved philosophy. I loved history of the ancient world. Growing up in a Christian home, I also loved religious studies classes. I was a Protestant so it was almost culture shock to be taught by nuns and priests getting used to hearing, "the Blessed Mother," and other distinctly Catholic terminology. My father had been Roman Catholic, but we only attended my mother's Methodist then Presbyterian churches.

I developed very close relationships with my professors in English, philosophy, and religious studies. I changed my major to English then stayed from 1986 to 1993 earning degrees in all three disciplines. My mind was hungry and on fire to learn from professors and challenge them back in an exciting academic environment.

According to the Principle of Primacy, the things learned first are retained the most. I remember more about Plato's Apology than I do about Immanuel Kant. I remember more about Jesus from Sunday School than I do from a 400 level class in Jesus and the Early Church.

I enjoyed the wisdom and simplicity of the Greek philosophers. These were the elite of their time. Yet, they were not at a Kantian level. The Greeks were the ones to whom Paul brought Christ. Paul was the Ph.D. of his time. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke to the poorly educated. His own disciples were often confused by his teachings and parables which seem obvious to us today. Yet, God chose these fishermen, tax collectors, and others to teach the message of salvation instead of the most learned temple priests, judges, or rabbis. Their words were easily understood by shepherds, laborers, craftsmen, soldiers, mothers, and others who didn't study the Tanakh in a formal way.

The message of the "Good News" is meant for all -- even the little children, so that all who hear may choose to come to Jesus. Yet, 2000 years of Western civilization, Catholic political reign in Europe, Protestant reformers, pulpits of preachers, ratings of televangelists, and writings of scholars have found the great theological minds and the worst mega-church motivational speakers in disagreement. As the Bible is scoured and dissected to find a more truthful truth, modern intellectualism leaves Christians worried they may not be saved enough. Bible study is important, but so is the simplicity of salvation. How do we overcome our obfuscation of a message even a child can understand as we seek to grow in knowledge? Do we spend too much time looking for deeper meaning rather than reading simple stories in simple context? Christianity began as an oral tradition. Early Christians were unburdened by Bible study and rejoiced in a simple faith often learned by listening only once to Peter. A shepherd could return the fields or a soldier to his cohort forever changed and at peace in his heart.

We aren't smart, we are ego.

Logic and reason handicap us, and academics teach us to rely on systems of thought rather than the truth. The crudeness of academia is matched by our delusion of peak progress and intellect. We still use combustion for transport...
 
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TraceMalin

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Then your goin to the wrong church.

I've been to many. Usually, churches that believe they are right aren't humble enough to believe they could be wrong. Sure. What they preach is in the Bible, but what they believe it to mean could be wrong.
 
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eleos1954

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When I started college, I was a disgruntled 18 year-old who was unhappy that I wasn't in the US Army where I belonged. My mother was a college professor who had free tuition benefits for her kids. My dad, a former US Marine, said the only thing being a paratrooper would get me was 3 hots, a cot, and a broken ankle. My parents convinced me to go to college and then I could become an officer. So, there I was as a psychology major because the green berets were also a unit that employed psychological warfare.

My first philosophy class dealt with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Wow! I loved philosophy. I loved history of the ancient world. Growing up in a Christian home, I also loved religious studies classes. I was a Protestant so it was almost culture shock to be taught by nuns and priests getting used to hearing, "the Blessed Mother," and other distinctly Catholic terminology. My father had been Roman Catholic, but we only attended my mother's Methodist then Presbyterian churches.

I developed very close relationships with my professors in English, philosophy, and religious studies. I changed my major to English then stayed from 1986 to 1993 earning degrees in all three disciplines. My mind was hungry and on fire to learn from professors and challenge them back in an exciting academic environment.

According to the Principle of Primacy, the things learned first are retained the most. I remember more about Plato's Apology than I do about Immanuel Kant. I remember more about Jesus from Sunday School than I do from a 400 level class in Jesus and the Early Church.

I enjoyed the wisdom and simplicity of the Greek philosophers. These were the elite of their time. Yet, they were not at a Kantian level. The Greeks were the ones to whom Paul brought Christ. Paul was the Ph.D. of his time. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke to the poorly educated. His own disciples were often confused by his teachings and parables which seem obvious to us today. Yet, God chose these fishermen, tax collectors, and others to teach the message of salvation instead of the most learned temple priests, judges, or rabbis. Their words were easily understood by shepherds, laborers, craftsmen, soldiers, mothers, and others who didn't study the Tanakh in a formal way.

The message of the "Good News" is meant for all -- even the little children, so that all who hear may choose to come to Jesus. Yet, 2000 years of Western civilization, Catholic political reign in Europe, Protestant reformers, pulpits of preachers, ratings of televangelists, and writings of scholars have found the great theological minds and the worst mega-church motivational speakers in disagreement. As the Bible is scoured and dissected to find a more truthful truth, modern intellectualism leaves Christians worried they may not be saved enough. Bible study is important, but so is the simplicity of salvation. How do we overcome our obfuscation of a message even a child can understand as we seek to grow in knowledge? Do we spend too much time looking for deeper meaning rather than reading simple stories in simple context? Christianity began as an oral tradition. Early Christians were unburdened by Bible study and rejoiced in a simple faith often learned by listening only once to Peter. A shepherd could return the fields or a soldier to his cohort forever changed and at peace in his heart.

The Word of God is written for everyone ... yes a small child can basically understand it ... yet ... in it's entirety it has immense depth. He wants us to "drink" lots of milk and move on to "solid food" when we are ready for it. ;o)

Hebrews 5:12-14

For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

1 Corinthians 3:1-23
But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh.
 
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When I started college, I was a disgruntled 18 year-old who was unhappy that I wasn't in the US Army where I belonged. My mother was a college professor who had free tuition benefits for her kids. My dad, a former US Marine, said the only thing being a paratrooper would get me was 3 hots, a cot, and a broken ankle. My parents convinced me to go to college and then I could become an officer. So, there I was as a psychology major because the green berets were also a unit that employed psychological warfare.

My first philosophy class dealt with Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle. Wow! I loved philosophy. I loved history of the ancient world. Growing up in a Christian home, I also loved religious studies classes. I was a Protestant so it was almost culture shock to be taught by nuns and priests getting used to hearing, "the Blessed Mother," and other distinctly Catholic terminology. My father had been Roman Catholic, but we only attended my mother's Methodist then Presbyterian churches.

I developed very close relationships with my professors in English, philosophy, and religious studies. I changed my major to English then stayed from 1986 to 1993 earning degrees in all three disciplines. My mind was hungry and on fire to learn from professors and challenge them back in an exciting academic environment.

According to the Principle of Primacy, the things learned first are retained the most. I remember more about Plato's Apology than I do about Immanuel Kant. I remember more about Jesus from Sunday School than I do from a 400 level class in Jesus and the Early Church.

I enjoyed the wisdom and simplicity of the Greek philosophers. These were the elite of their time. Yet, they were not at a Kantian level. The Greeks were the ones to whom Paul brought Christ. Paul was the Ph.D. of his time. Jesus, on the other hand, spoke to the poorly educated. His own disciples were often confused by his teachings and parables which seem obvious to us today. Yet, God chose these fishermen, tax collectors, and others to teach the message of salvation instead of the most learned temple priests, judges, or rabbis. Their words were easily understood by shepherds, laborers, craftsmen, soldiers, mothers, and others who didn't study the Tanakh in a formal way.

The message of the "Good News" is meant for all -- even the little children, so that all who hear may choose to come to Jesus. Yet, 2000 years of Western civilization, Catholic political reign in Europe, Protestant reformers, pulpits of preachers, ratings of televangelists, and writings of scholars have found the great theological minds and the worst mega-church motivational speakers in disagreement. As the Bible is scoured and dissected to find a more truthful truth, modern intellectualism leaves Christians worried they may not be saved enough. Bible study is important, but so is the simplicity of salvation. How do we overcome our obfuscation of a message even a child can understand as we seek to grow in knowledge? Do we spend too much time looking for deeper meaning rather than reading simple stories in simple context? Christianity began as an oral tradition. Early Christians were unburdened by Bible study and rejoiced in a simple faith often learned by listening only once to Peter. A shepherd could return the fields or a soldier to his cohort forever changed and at peace in his heart.
Thanks for your essay. I read the Bible over and over as I lack knowledge. I noticed Jesus quoted the law and the prophets from my Gospel readings. In the Gospel of Luke he read from the Book of Isaiah in a Nazareth synagogue. Acts and the Epistles show the apostles had read or heard the Hebrew Bible too. Paul knew Greek, Aramaic/Hebrew, perhaps some Latin too. He had studied Gospel testimony and the Hebrew Scriptures.

I got a two year degree in Business Admin. Next I dropped after being enrolled at UMass/Amherst as a geology major; due to worldly distractions. At age 41 I got a degree in Computer Information Systems with honors from a for profit college. Their standards were too low. At 60 I do not go back to school. I audited a Yale economics course online for free. Over two years ago, I read books about plant based diets written by doctors. I lost weight, lowered my blood pressure, was healed of kidney stones, lowered my PSA and went off medication for an enlarged prostate. The truth healed a man.

After a back injury I used to take the subway to the Capitol South station and read Biblical archaeology books in the Library of Congress. They stated they are the largest library in the world. I read books by nineteenth century Bible scholars and laymen who traveled in Israel. I went to Israel and published photos and text on web pages with some Bible commentary.

Someone who can remember Christ’s Sermon on the Mount and practice his teachings may do better than those who pursued worldly distractions.
 
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Pedra

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I've been to many. Usually, churches that believe they are right aren't humble enough to believe they could be wrong. Sure. What they preach is in the Bible, but what they believe it to mean could be wrong.
Still....you've been to the wrong ones. Listen good bible believing churches are hard to find, the type that is all man's religious traditions are the majority. There are small biblically based churches out there , few and far between but none the less Seek and ye shall find.
 
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Jamsie

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Matt.18 Verses 2 to 4

So you disagree on this wider point: "...if we permit the whole collective thought of the nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which, by the restless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a harmless delusion."?
Acts 17:16-34
1 Peter 3:15

“If we submit everything to reason our religion will be left with nothing mysterious or supernatural. If we offend the principles of reason our religion will be absurd and ridiculous . . . There are two equally dangerous extremes: to exclude reason, to admit nothing but reason.” Pascal
 
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