Tuesday, October 17, 2006
--A Practical Understanding, Part 2:
Instruction
attended medical school or served an internship, but protested that he had read all the
books. The practice of medicine requires not only memorization of facts about the care
and repair of the human body, but carefully supervised practice and instruction.
Why are there so many strange and often contradictory ideas about what the Bible says?
There are thousands of denominations, often founded on arguments about whether certain
things should be eaten or drunk (see Romans Chapter 14), whether there should be musical
instruments in worship (read a few of the Psalms of David), whether the things Paul
wrote in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 have the exactly opposite meaning to the one he
actually presented in the text, whether the strict literary interpretation of a few words at a
time from second- or third-hand translations of the Biblical texts into obsolete
Elizabethan English should take precedence over praying for God’s understanding of
what they mean (see James 1:5), and an apparently endless variety of similarly mystifying
conclusions that have little or no basis in what the text of the Scripture actually says.
Worse, there are probably more fraudulent or deceptive belief systems that pretend to be
Christian denominations than there are major non-Christian religions---Catholicism,
Mormonism, Adventism, the Witnesses, various Gnosticisms, Arianism, Deism, and a
bewildering variety of similar nonsense which often doesn’t bear even a superficial
resemblance to the teachings and Example of Jesus ( I can still remember when
Scientology presented itself as a Christian denomination, tomato cans and all ). Why
do people pursue these pretensions to Christianity when it is so much easier---and
infinitely more effective---to believe and practice what the Scripture actually says?
Like other vital, applied disciplines, Christian life cannot be based on merely reading and
memorizing the Textbook. We are required to undergo a rigorous course of instruction
and training---and an “internship” which requires the rest of our lives. We have to
quietly sit in the Presence of the Teacher and learn about His Ways, study His Examples,
and put the things we learn into practice in our lives.
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John 14It is unlikely that anyone would trust his life to a surgeon who admitted that he hadn’t
26But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to
you.
attended medical school or served an internship, but protested that he had read all the
books. The practice of medicine requires not only memorization of facts about the care
and repair of the human body, but carefully supervised practice and instruction.
Why are there so many strange and often contradictory ideas about what the Bible says?
There are thousands of denominations, often founded on arguments about whether certain
things should be eaten or drunk (see Romans Chapter 14), whether there should be musical
instruments in worship (read a few of the Psalms of David), whether the things Paul
wrote in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12 have the exactly opposite meaning to the one he
actually presented in the text, whether the strict literary interpretation of a few words at a
time from second- or third-hand translations of the Biblical texts into obsolete
Elizabethan English should take precedence over praying for God’s understanding of
what they mean (see James 1:5), and an apparently endless variety of similarly mystifying
conclusions that have little or no basis in what the text of the Scripture actually says.
Worse, there are probably more fraudulent or deceptive belief systems that pretend to be
Christian denominations than there are major non-Christian religions---Catholicism,
Mormonism, Adventism, the Witnesses, various Gnosticisms, Arianism, Deism, and a
bewildering variety of similar nonsense which often doesn’t bear even a superficial
resemblance to the teachings and Example of Jesus ( I can still remember when
Scientology presented itself as a Christian denomination, tomato cans and all ). Why
do people pursue these pretensions to Christianity when it is so much easier---and
infinitely more effective---to believe and practice what the Scripture actually says?
Like other vital, applied disciplines, Christian life cannot be based on merely reading and
memorizing the Textbook. We are required to undergo a rigorous course of instruction
and training---and an “internship” which requires the rest of our lives. We have to
quietly sit in the Presence of the Teacher and learn about His Ways, study His Examples,
and put the things we learn into practice in our lives.
Labels: Bible and Religious Commentary
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