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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | Jensen | 30237 | ||
Thank you for your thoughtful replies. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. Would you agree that one does not battle the mind with the heart…….at least if one wants to dissuade the other of a position held upon an intellectual foundation. There is seldom a feeling acceptance of Eastern thought. Christianity successfully uses emotions because the truth is written on our hearts where emotion resides. Christians are, therefore, emotional creatures by definition, made in the image of God. Cry all you want and stomp your feet but in the closing you must present a point by point refutation of an intellectual polemic if you are to make sense, and not feelings.….but sense… to a non-believer. This person has, or these Americans have, abandoned Christ. I think that to suggest that I “Use this verse” is probably nonsensical to a non-believer, one who knows of Christ but has no belief. Evangelical non-Christians use faulty reasoning or giant leaps of faith to persuade their victim but never, or seldom, is emotion used. That is why the air of arrogance surrounds all Christ haters. Intellectual arguments are based on facts at their base so we must reason with facts and logic and truth to those who have come to their beliefs as a result of an intellectual exercise. The pity is that we can not use the Word of God in our argument, only the truth of the Word. So therefore (1 Peter 3:15) “ But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,..”……… and so we must know some things such as what this child of God believes. So…If you have some resources let me know, please pray now for Jim. God Bless….Jensen |
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2 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | Reformer Joe | 30253 | ||
Jensen: Just out of curiosity, how do you come to the conclusion that you CAN'T use the Word of God in your reply? What else are you going to use as a source for the truth of Christianity? Don't sell short the power of the Spirit to use His own inspired words to enlighten the mind and persuade the will of the unbeliever. And, truth be known, your friend's "intellectual" foundation is just a smokescreen for the real issue: the problem of his will. It is not that he cannot believe intellectually; it is that he does not WANT to believe. The will involves the mind and the heart, so do not be misled by his apparent "quest for truth." Romans 1 is clear that he is suppressing it. --Joe! |
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3 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | Jensen | 30271 | ||
Thank you for your kind response.... You wrote... "Don't sell short the power of the Spirit to use His own inspired words to enlighten the mind and persuade the will of the unbeliever." You misunderstand. My point is that I can not offer as proof something that is dismisseed out of hand....the Bible. I did say that I can use only its' truth. For someone to argue truth by saying "I believe it is true because I heard it on Oprah" will not work on someone who dismisses Oprah out of hand, like I do. You wrote..."It is not that he cannot believe intellectually; it is that he does not WANT to believe."...Precisely the point. Yes...he is surpressing the truth. He uses a new truth, one that is just as real. Just as the Biblical truth has surpressed or shed light on the worlds truth(lie) so too the Fulan Gong truth is replacing Biblical truth for this individual as well as many other Americans. He does not want to believe the Bible. He may, however, believe the Fulan Gong master. Would you beleive the Fulan Gong master as proof that Christianity is a sham? Of course not. You close your mind in the same way that any nonbeliever does when it comes to the Bible. Any Christian response to this movement must not use Biblical verses as proof. Do you see what I mean? We must use the Biblical truth without quoting Scripture. The way I understand the dilema it is a matter of using the Bible without using the Bible :-) God Bless....Jensen |
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4 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | Reformer Joe | 30300 | ||
I understand your argument. What I think you are failing to keep in mind that it is not merely a matter of someone making up their own mind about the truth. The Holy Spirit convicts the sinner, enlightens the sinner's mind regarding the truth, and persuades the sinner's will to embrace the truth. The Bible is more than just "true information." The Holy Spirit uses the proclamation of His own words as a means of grace to bring the sinner to faith in Christ. If your friend does not want to believe the Bible, it requires a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to overcome that. That is what the cult evangelist must rely on. Scripture itself is absolutely sufficient to be a tool for evangelism. Don't underestimate God's own words to break down the stubborn self-will of your friend. In addition, if your friend rejects the biblical text itself, to what authority will you appeal for the biblical truth you will be giving him? I have been involved in cult evangelism for over a decade now, and I can attest that the Bible itself, properly used, is the only thing that will be effective in bringing the cultist to Christ. Exposing the errors of a cult is terribly effective at times in getting a person to reject that organization, but they are still as bound for hell if they are not going to embrace the truth. The Bible does not just contain the truth; it IS the TRUTH. Rely on the Holy Spirit and present the Scriptures. "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek." --Romans 1:16 --Joe! |
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5 | Christian Response To Eastern Thought? | Is 55:11 | Morant61 | 30303 | ||
Greetings Joe! You said: "What I think you are failing to keep in mind that it is not merely a matter of someone making up their own mind about the truth. The Holy Spirit convicts the sinner, enlightens the sinner's mind regarding the truth, and persuades the sinner's will to embrace the truth." Excellent statement my brother! I think that you and I both tend to operate more on the logic side rather than the emotional side. I know that I am sometimes tempted to think that I can persude someone into heaven by the cleverness of my presentation or the seamlessness of my logic. However, it is God who draws, persuades, and convicts. We must be careful that we don't turn from the truth in our efforts to present the truth. A great example is Paul at Mars Hill. He didn't try to persude them with logic. He simply proclaimed the Gospel and allowed God to work. Many rejected his message as nonsense, but some responded to the truth. I think that we have an obligation to present the Gospel as effectively as we can. However, we must always avoid the temptation of watering down the Gospel so that it might be more acceptable to the so-called intellectuals. 1 Cor. 1:20 "Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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