Comments on: Inappropriate Censorship http://www.georgebarna.com/2010/06/inappropriate-censorship/ Facilitating A Spiritual And Moral Revolution Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:40:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Mark Turney http://www.georgebarna.com/2010/06/inappropriate-censorship/comment-page-1/#comment-1213 Mark Turney Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:33:41 +0000 http://www.georgebarna.com/?p=451#comment-1213 Ah, the balancing act between standing on the word of God as written and being teachable. It is especially difficult these days in light of so many in the church who wish to reinterpret or adapt the Bible to a postmodern world. The Bible is the word of God, the very God who is unchanging. We must daily and radically change to conform to His wisdom. The secret is to remember the origin of truth: does man decide truth, or does God decide truth? When we look to God for truth, we are on safe ground, but if we look to man, or the "educated" authority that man-as-higher-critic often presumes, to constantly reinterpret or redefine the word of God, then we have usurped God's authority. To interpret the Scriptures according to the tenets of conservatism or liberalism or any other ism we care to dream up is a subtle idolatry, for if these tenets become the filter through which we interpret the Bible, rather than the other way around, then we have dethroned God as the ultimate judge and placed our ideological idols in His place. Ah, the balancing act between standing on the word of God as written and being teachable. It is especially difficult these days in light of so many in the church who wish to reinterpret or adapt the Bible to a postmodern world. The Bible is the word of God, the very God who is unchanging. We must daily and radically change to conform to His wisdom. The secret is to remember the origin of truth: does man decide truth, or does God decide truth? When we look to God for truth, we are on safe ground, but if we look to man, or the “educated” authority that man-as-higher-critic often presumes, to constantly reinterpret or redefine the word of God, then we have usurped God’s authority. To interpret the Scriptures according to the tenets of conservatism or liberalism or any other ism we care to dream up is a subtle idolatry, for if these tenets become the filter through which we interpret the Bible, rather than the other way around, then we have dethroned God as the ultimate judge and placed our ideological idols in His place.

]]> By: B Crump http://www.georgebarna.com/2010/06/inappropriate-censorship/comment-page-1/#comment-1091 B Crump Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:56:59 +0000 http://www.georgebarna.com/?p=451#comment-1091 "A religious group matures and improves only by correcting its flaws, and usually the enemies of that group can help it to see those flaws better than its friends can. [Our] enemies ... [provide] some of the most brilliant analyses of the failures and weaknesses of our churches and our theology. There is far more to be learned from them than from friends who flatter and patronize us, but fail to tell us the truth that hurts. I hope that by studying the arguments of our enemies we will recognize our sins, confess them, and work to cleanse ourselves of them." ~ Tony Campolo (Partly Right) I like to think of the "big picture" as a puzzle. Somehow all the pieces link up, yet, they are all different. My fear is that I spend too much time looking for the one piece to spend all my time on. I want to challenge myself to experience the discussions of atheists, homosexuals, Catholics, Buddhists, et al. Does it dilute my faith or theology? I don't think so. I think it enables me to fill in more pieces of the puzzle than if I throw away all the pieces that seem ugly to me. “A religious group matures and improves only by correcting its flaws, and usually the enemies of that group can help it to see those flaws better than its friends can. [Our] enemies … [provide] some of the most brilliant analyses of the failures and weaknesses of our churches and our theology. There is far more to be learned from them than from friends who flatter and patronize us, but fail to tell us the truth that hurts. I hope that by studying the arguments of our enemies we will recognize our sins, confess them, and work to cleanse ourselves of them.”

~ Tony Campolo (Partly Right)

I like to think of the “big picture” as a puzzle. Somehow all the pieces link up, yet, they are all different. My fear is that I spend too much time looking for the one piece to spend all my time on. I want to challenge myself to experience the discussions of atheists, homosexuals, Catholics, Buddhists, et al.

Does it dilute my faith or theology? I don’t think so. I think it enables me to fill in more pieces of the puzzle than if I throw away all the pieces that seem ugly to me.

]]> By: Jim Roberts http://www.georgebarna.com/2010/06/inappropriate-censorship/comment-page-1/#comment-1090 Jim Roberts Thu, 01 Jul 2010 13:08:49 +0000 http://www.georgebarna.com/?p=451#comment-1090 "But I wonder how much wisdom I miss by screening out too much of the content that I assume will be of no value based solely on cues such as the leanings of the author or the location of an article." WISDOM Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Prov 4:5 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. Luke 2:52 Wisdom - 1. God's perspective 2. Skilled in the art of Godly living 3. Seeing the relationship bewtween the problems in life and the principles of scripture which have been violated. Listening/reading - These (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Modern age ---TMI (too much information) Narrow your sources, why? Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. Jn 17:17 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Jn 15:3 “But I wonder how much wisdom I miss by screening out too much of the content that I assume will be of no value based solely on cues such as the leanings of the author or the location of an article.”

WISDOM

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Prov 4:5

And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. Luke 2:52

Wisdom –
1. God’s perspective
2. Skilled in the art of Godly living
3. Seeing the relationship bewtween the problems in life and the principles of scripture which have been violated.

Listening/reading – These (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Modern age —TMI (too much information)

Narrow your sources, why?

Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Jn 17:17
Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Jn 15:3

]]> By: Rupert Loyd Jr. http://www.georgebarna.com/2010/06/inappropriate-censorship/comment-page-1/#comment-1089 Rupert Loyd Jr. Thu, 01 Jul 2010 12:21:50 +0000 http://www.georgebarna.com/?p=451#comment-1089 A colleague of mine recently commented that being an adult is exciting because you never have to stop learning. Her attitude of lifelong learning results in a humility that allows the Lord to speak to her from many diverse sources. None of us is so well-versed in the Christian worldview that we cannot learn more, even (especially?) from those with whom we disagree. Thanks for the reminder. A colleague of mine recently commented that being an adult is exciting because you never have to stop learning. Her attitude of lifelong learning results in a humility that allows the Lord to speak to her from many diverse sources. None of us is so well-versed in the Christian worldview that we cannot learn more, even (especially?) from those with whom we disagree. Thanks for the reminder.

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