John W. Burgeson wrote:
JB> Derek translated a Scripture verse:
>
> > Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
> > and do not rely on your own insight.. Pr. 3:5
>
> as "Believe and do whatever people who
> claim to speak for God tell you to believe and do; don't
> think for yourself, but allow the people who claim to speak
> for God do your thinking for you."
>
JB> Derek -- that is about as far off a translation as I can imagine. It
is
> so "bad" I am going to use it as an example (not quoting you, of course!)
> in my Sunday School class tomorrow!
>
> Is it true of some people? Of course. Just as some people "in your camp"
> exhibit the same behavior! (Probably fewer, in proportion; I grant you
> that much). Is it true of Al Plantinga? John Polkinghorne? C. S. Lewis?
> Bernard Ramm? Glenn Morton? Brian Harper? Loren Haarsma? I could mention
> numerous others who write books and / or chime in from time to time on
> this LISTSERV, but you get my drift.
The point is not whether it is true of other people, but whether it was
a reasonable interpretation of the psalmist's instruction.
What does "Trust in the Lord with all your heart." actually *mean*? In
order to obey such an instruction, what do I actually *think* and/or
*do*? It is a phrase that has been used so frequently that I wonder if
it actually engages anyone's mind as it passes through.
If God doesn't speak to me, then if I am to trust in God, then I had
better listen to the people to whom He *does* speak, if I could reliably
identify them!
I understand very well what "do not rely on your own insight" implies -
rely on the insight of God. But again, if God doesn't speak to me, then
I have to rely on the insight of the people to whom He *does* speak!
JB> I was as you are now at one time. To some extent I was a person who
let
> other persons (non-Christians) do my thinking for me.
Make up your mind. :-) Either you were as I am now *or* you let other
people do your thinking for you.
JB> That is because I
> was really really busy with "more important" things.
I'm really busy too, but, when I can, I take the time to test my ideas
against critics, such as you and others who take the time to respond.
Does this sound like someone who lets other people do their thinking for
them?
JB> When I finally
> figured out that maybe the claims of Christ were, at least possibly, more
> important than computer technology, I started serious study. As Bill
> Payne recently mentioned, such a study necessarily means one must be
> ready to accept the consequences of accepting those claims, else it is
> hardly worth doing. But that is another matter.
I accepted "those claims" *before* I started the serious study. And it
was Christian literature that I studied, since atheistic literature was
almost completely unavailable to me.
JB> Too many many people have accepted those claims, through their own
study,
> for one to summarily dismiss Christ's claims as "for unthinking people only."
I did not dismiss the claims of the Bible summarily, but only after much
study and consideration over a number of years. (You might also have
noticed that I am still studying.) I can't even say exactly when I
ceased to be a Bible-believing Christian. I know I definitely was one
when I was 12 and I definitely wasn't one when I was 18. It may also be
worthwhile remembering that, while no one could accuse me now of being a
Bible-believing Christian, some would, on the basis of the ethical
system I follow, still categorise me as a Christian. Modernist or
post-modernist, I think?
Regards,
Derek
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