false 3 9 4 true 5646238 read 2 true 464988 currently-reading 3 true 464987 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/10641412 Darknightdestiny's review of Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis

Paul warned those that would teach of the great responsibility it carries, and told them that with it much would be required. Do you think that those who teach have not spent their lives studying the same things which you have studied, in various languages and versions, meticulously examining every facet? What you are asking me to do is to set aside the Spirit, to forget all He has taught me. You are asking me to read God's Word, leaving God out of it; you want me to try to gain knowledge from it on only the surface, without asking God for any guidance, despite that the Bible is God's Word. This is what people who are closed to the Spirit do, and they gain no understanding from it. Do you see how ridiculous a concept it is, to try and read God's Word but not seek His help in understanding it? That is like conversing with someone without stopping to ask if you have their meaning correct.

I am not saying that my reasoning is inherently bad and thus I must turn to some other teacher or pastor. I am saying that all human reasoning falls short of God's reasoning, but that He has given us human reasoning so that we may understand as much as is humanly possible about Him. He helps us with the rest by giving us His Spirit, which has the power to transform us into something more than human, and does. I am saying that the Spirit is much better than the flesh, and it would be of grievous error to limit the Spirit with the flesh.

I do care. I will pray. That is all I can offer you for now.

Rachel

Edit: You got here before I could, while I was patching my posts up (before you read them, I thought, but I was slow on the draw). To your message: agreed, for as long as you wish.

Second Edit: Referring to Luke 21:32, you can check this site http://www.jesuswalk.com/lessons/21_29-3... for various meanings of the Greek word "genea". Also noted is that Jesus says that He does not know the time when the end will take place, but that only the Father knows. I admit being mistaken in the meaning I stated before; but when I looked for the verse (the "when" He said it) and its context and found the notation near the word 'generation' as "or 'this age,' or 'this nation'," it did not pose a problem for me. I can see now that He was talking about the End of the Age, and His Second Coming; you can see why from the portion you brought to me I gathered something different, having remembered the verse but not where it was located or how His entire speech went. You left out much about the signs of the end of times. That is my fault for speaking before looking for it, and for that I am sorry. Still, it does not pose a problem for me. And if He had said it in a different context, before He died, without speaking of the end of times and the Second Coming specifically, I would have taken it to mean what I did. Again, returning to my previous point, it is important to study the language in which the text was written, and the various meanings of a word, especially when considering how the word "generation" is used in other parts of Biblical text, and taking into consideration the repeated use by the author. Be sure to look at the footnote at the end of the page I've given you. ]]>