Avoid subverting this thread by lapsing into comments such as:
"The more we know about God through His Word the better we can love and obey Him!"
"When we read about Jesus we can become more like Him!"
"God's Word brings goodness, faith, and joy!"
The facts are that Scripture is immensely complex, no scholar understands it, obedience to the commands of Jesus are entirely hit and miss, and Jesus repeatedly stated all of His True Followers would be persecuted, harmed, ravaged, and killed as was He. Additionally, no person can actually have the Mind of Christ as He was, only slight bits of His Mind. Paul speaks of literally comprehending the "breadth, length, depth, and height" of Christ's Love, yet of all people I have asked for either a demonstration of just that or a description of it, none have had an answer. Not one.
Scholars and Pulpit Jockeys all work very diligently to keep the essential Gospel out of the reach of regular people. That is why they like to publish and place into curriculums never ending explanations, and like to pontificate never ending sermons using motivational language. All to "teach" us about being saved for Heaven.
Think. Picture Third World Christians living in utter poverty, having no personal Bibles, maybe illiterate, not in much of a functioning church, maybe with an untrained Pastor, ignorant of all the knowledge we take for granted, surviving meal to meal, sad and drained every day with life, persecuted and killed by Muslims, maybe not knowing Jesus said He was with them. Will they still go to Heaven and be rewarded for the shreds of their faith even if they are unable to exegete Biblical Text and expound upon it? Yes, Indeed they will go to Heaven.
What then is the point of any intricate Theological and Doctrinal discussion, Textual exegesis, and deeper discernment? Is any of that necessary?
Here is the answer. The extensive western religious training which God provides to us rich people is a preparation for our horrific judgement just around the corner for being the kind of Believers we are. We are rich people trying to go through the Eye of a Needle. And, Yes, "Eye of a Needle" refers to a very small door impassable to fat people and loaded camels.
Knowledge of Scripture is not an issue of understanding how we are saved, but is all about knowing how as fat, rich people we are to survive tribulation for faith and go through death without renouncing Christ. Skinny people in persecution and poverty have nothing to lose, because they are already as good as dead. Fat, rich people are full of self confidence and their "rights."
"The more we know about God through His Word the better we can love and obey Him!"
"When we read about Jesus we can become more like Him!"
"God's Word brings goodness, faith, and joy!"
The facts are that Scripture is immensely complex, no scholar understands it, obedience to the commands of Jesus are entirely hit and miss, and Jesus repeatedly stated all of His True Followers would be persecuted, harmed, ravaged, and killed as was He. Additionally, no person can actually have the Mind of Christ as He was, only slight bits of His Mind. Paul speaks of literally comprehending the "breadth, length, depth, and height" of Christ's Love, yet of all people I have asked for either a demonstration of just that or a description of it, none have had an answer. Not one.
Scholars and Pulpit Jockeys all work very diligently to keep the essential Gospel out of the reach of regular people. That is why they like to publish and place into curriculums never ending explanations, and like to pontificate never ending sermons using motivational language. All to "teach" us about being saved for Heaven.
Think. Picture Third World Christians living in utter poverty, having no personal Bibles, maybe illiterate, not in much of a functioning church, maybe with an untrained Pastor, ignorant of all the knowledge we take for granted, surviving meal to meal, sad and drained every day with life, persecuted and killed by Muslims, maybe not knowing Jesus said He was with them. Will they still go to Heaven and be rewarded for the shreds of their faith even if they are unable to exegete Biblical Text and expound upon it? Yes, Indeed they will go to Heaven.
What then is the point of any intricate Theological and Doctrinal discussion, Textual exegesis, and deeper discernment? Is any of that necessary?
Here is the answer. The extensive western religious training which God provides to us rich people is a preparation for our horrific judgement just around the corner for being the kind of Believers we are. We are rich people trying to go through the Eye of a Needle. And, Yes, "Eye of a Needle" refers to a very small door impassable to fat people and loaded camels.
Knowledge of Scripture is not an issue of understanding how we are saved, but is all about knowing how as fat, rich people we are to survive tribulation for faith and go through death without renouncing Christ. Skinny people in persecution and poverty have nothing to lose, because they are already as good as dead. Fat, rich people are full of self confidence and their "rights."
