blockquote test

Test of quoting a complex passage

Scripture talks rather about a day-to-day guidence by the Holy Spirit - being "led" by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14; Gal. 5:18), and walking according to the Spirit (Roman 8:4; Gal. 5:16). Now it is possible to understand Paul here to be referring only to the obedience to the moral commands of Scripture, but this interpretation seems quite unlikely, especially since the entire context is dealing with emotions and desires which we percieve in a more subjective way, and because Paul here contrasts being led by the Spirit with following the desires of the flesh or the sinful nature:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh .... Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger .... But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control .... If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us have no self-conceit, no provoking of one another, no envy of one another. (Gal. 5:16-26)

The contrast between the "desires of the flesh" and the "desires of the Spirit" implies that our lives should be responding moment to moment to the desires of the Holy Spirit, not to the desires of the flesh. Now it may be that a large part of responding to those desires is the intellectual process of understanding what love, joy, peace (and so forth) are, and then acting in a loving or a joyful or a peaceful way. But this can hardly constitute the whole of such guidance by the Spirit becaus these emotions are not simply things we think about; they are things we also feel and sense at a deeper level. In fact, the word translated "desires" (Gk. epithymia) is a word that refers to strong human desires, not simply intellectual decisions. Paul implies that we are to follow these desires as they are produced by the Holy Spirit in us. Moreover, the idea of being "led" by the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18) implies an active personal participation by the Holy Spirit in guiding us. This is something more than our reflecting on biblical moral standards, and includes an involvement by the Holy Spirit in relating to us as persons and leading and directing us. (p.642-643)

Test from BlogPress

This is a test of a post from my phone.




Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Test embedding YouTube

Here is the video:

What do you think?

What happens when there is a very very long blog post title??????

Just a test. Added a Bible verse .... John 3:16.

The twisting of tolerance

One of the interesting points made in one of Greg's talks was how he described the change in the definition of tolerance.

Now, I don't think it comes as a shock to many that what is often espoused as tolerance today is a far cry from what we originally thought the word meant. Tolerance used to be that I could openly disagree with you, but still treat you with respect. Now it seems to mean I must not disagree with you at all.

However, the interesting thing that Greg pointed out was how this new definition was effectively a reversal of the original definition; turning the meaning on its head.

The original definion of tolerance would mean that I should:

1. be respectful and accepting of all men regardless of the beliefs they hold
2. be selective of which beliefs to accept

Now, the inverse is true. This new "tolerance" has morphed into saying I should:

1. be respectful and accepting of all beliefs
2. be selective of which men to accept based on the beliefs they hold

I found that stating the "twisting of tolerance" in this way helped me think about the issue in a new way.

The original definition holds men in higher regard than ideas, the new one values ideas more than men.

p.s. As I'm not much of a note taker, in this and other posts related to Greg's talks, I am operating pretty much from memory ... if I am misrepresenting anything or get any facts wrong, please let me know!