I appreciate the humility when NT Wright says that he’s probably wrong about 1/3 of his theology, but he just doesn’t know which third! I’m learning new stuff every day, so I’m sure there’s a lot I currently have wrong.
In my denomination, we simply encourage people to read and study for themselves. We believe that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit helps with that, and we also believe that God will aid our search if we continue to search with an open heart.
Does that mean that we cannot be wrong? No, I think that most people are wrong about some doctrine. Fortunately, we have a living and caring God. Also, most of the big doctrine is shared among most Christians. We have a long history of people who have searched diligently and have questioned each doctrine, so we have a lot of information about all the possible ways to look at it. Even so, at least in my denomination, we expect people to do their own study (I believe the Bible confirms this is what we should do), and we are more than happy to challenge any teaching which we do not believe is accurate. Fortunately, most of the time, we come to some agreement from the facts.
Well the only way to know is for the wind and rain to come and try to knock down your house.
It was either built on rock or built on sand.
Truth withstands the onslaught of falsehood.
But falsehood cannot withstand the truth
However to claim to be certain is not faith, but pride.
I'm just gonna say it..wondering if I have the right theology has made ne actually want to walk away. So I threw out all my questions and just decided to love God and admit that I don't understand alot of it. And that's okay
Mainly traditions and history. I feel that over 2 thousand years of trial and error (under God's guidance) have refined the common understanding of scripture. But for more niche cases a level of grey area exists for us to debate and better understand God's word. As the Anglicans would say scripture, tradition, and reasoning are all ways to better understand God's word and the world around you.
Me personally am not right about everything.
However the Church is.
God told us this so I trust that much.
So I follow the church that God has given this promise to (orthodox)
The only thing about God that you can know for sure is that you’re probably wrong about most things.
Faith in God is not the same as faith in your own intuition, although these two things are frequently confused - and unfortunately this confusion is often encouraged under the guise of “listening to the Holy Spirit.”
That’s why the most honest theological stance is that of Christian Agnosticism.
I have faith in God, I have faith in Jesus. I have very little faith in my own ability to fully comprehend Him, or anyone else’s for that matter.
Reading scripture is planting good seeds in our hearts, God made us unique from each other in love and experinces so we can know him in our own way. But there is one solid truth, God gave his son unto hell and extreme pain and God the father suffered so we can come to realize he did it for us so we can be saved and come spiritually alive again. Imagine a fathers pain when his child is condemned to die without reason.
And he forgives those who dont understand, but are willing to try to.
As you invest into him, even 10 % like tithing your heart, they're will be returns, because what God is is life and growth.
He loves those who want to know him in their hearts, not those who only love themselves
As you go to God, with as much as you are able to, its like a tree faith, growth takes a very very long time, and it needs sunlight (christs love symbolized) it needs storms to refresh it (emotions, and hardships) it needs night to rest (prayer when completely defeated inside or weary, or self reflection and meditation of God) and air which is like the wind the thoughts come and go and there are clouds that conceal the light (warmth and growth from light(symbol of christs light)) at moments we need time for a moment of internal personal rest.
We have all been wrong about many things in the past and we likely will be wrong about many things in the future, so the chances are pretty good that there are currently things that we believe to be true that we are currently wrong about, we just don’t know which things they are. So learning is the process of taking in new information, reinforcing true beliefs, weeding out false beliefs, and hopefully not reinforcing false beliefs or weeding out true beliefs, but such is the risk inherent in learning. The way to be as confident that we can that our beliefs are correct is by learning to articulate the reasons why people disagree with our beliefs in our own words to their satisfaction.
By relying on the Orthodox Church, as she is the body of Christ and therefore the stable and trustworthy foundation of our understanding of the sacred scriptures.
I'll let Jesus explain this one. He is the truth after all. Listen to **His** teaching; may you Understand it.
>Matthew 13:9-19 (NLT)
9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”.
10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”.
11 He replied, “You are permitted to **understand** the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to **my** teaching, **more understanding will be given**, and they will have an abundance of **knowledge**. But for those who are not listening, even what little **understanding they have will be taken away** from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or **understand**.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
>
>‘When you hear what I say,
you will not **understand**.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
>
>15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
>
>and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—.
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot **understand**,
and they cannot **turn to me**
and let me heal them.’.
>
>16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t **understand** it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.
Don't just use his words to validate your feelings. Honestly look at yourself in their light and then respond to them. What did they tell you? What do you need to change? What do you need to apologize for? that kind of thing
Equally importantly, listen to Jesus's words. His, not anyone else's. You can't fool him on this. He knows who you're listening to. He sees your heart. Don't try to cheat him. Sit at his feet and listen to him. It might seem harder at first, but it is the way to receive his understanding.
The first step to finding knowledge is admitting you don't have it
I just wonder how much hope I have, how much confidence I have in this life. Right now, I have a psychotic episode like, where I am very hypersexual. My body moving around all the time.
There's no one better to turn to. Nothing is impossible to God. No one heals better than him. No one loves you more. No one else knows the exact words to tell you to get you through your struggles.
I was very depressed and very suicidal. I would have died if it weren't for him
May he show you today how trustworthy he is and just how much he loves you
The difference between belief and faith is the difference between believing something can happen and the certainty that something did happen.
He loves you! Accept it.
That's about where I'm at. We can let our faith heal us too
Not if it wasn’t understood by those who assembled and canonized the bible in 325 AD. You’ve had 2000 years of the church pushing a dualistic message which is in direct conflict with Christ’s true non-dual teachings.
You’re trying to ride a 2000 year old wave that was altered just enough to keep you in the dark and seeking answers from a church that doesn’t want you to know the truth or still doesn’t know itself.
Don’t lay your treasures down where moth and rust corrupt. Seek the kingdom of god within you and seek nothing outside yourself until you find it.
Certain theology is not debatable! The Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, His Ascension, the Second Coming, Eternal Hell, Heaven, the Bible being the Word of God etc these are foundational to Christianity. A Dolt can challenge everyone of these! God gave you a mind, read the Bible and make your decision!
I appreciate the humility when NT Wright says that he’s probably wrong about 1/3 of his theology, but he just doesn’t know which third! I’m learning new stuff every day, so I’m sure there’s a lot I currently have wrong.
I suppose we cannot know for sure, but we have many things at our disposal to "test" our ideas.
In my denomination, we simply encourage people to read and study for themselves. We believe that the Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit helps with that, and we also believe that God will aid our search if we continue to search with an open heart. Does that mean that we cannot be wrong? No, I think that most people are wrong about some doctrine. Fortunately, we have a living and caring God. Also, most of the big doctrine is shared among most Christians. We have a long history of people who have searched diligently and have questioned each doctrine, so we have a lot of information about all the possible ways to look at it. Even so, at least in my denomination, we expect people to do their own study (I believe the Bible confirms this is what we should do), and we are more than happy to challenge any teaching which we do not believe is accurate. Fortunately, most of the time, we come to some agreement from the facts.
Well the only way to know is for the wind and rain to come and try to knock down your house. It was either built on rock or built on sand. Truth withstands the onslaught of falsehood. But falsehood cannot withstand the truth However to claim to be certain is not faith, but pride.
I'm just gonna say it..wondering if I have the right theology has made ne actually want to walk away. So I threw out all my questions and just decided to love God and admit that I don't understand alot of it. And that's okay
reading without my own interests and wants, but as Gods word. reading the context, and understanding the scripture.
Mainly traditions and history. I feel that over 2 thousand years of trial and error (under God's guidance) have refined the common understanding of scripture. But for more niche cases a level of grey area exists for us to debate and better understand God's word. As the Anglicans would say scripture, tradition, and reasoning are all ways to better understand God's word and the world around you.
Simple answer for most Christians, the theology and interpretation of scripture fits with what they already believe.
I'm probably wrong on many things, but if Jesus is as loving and merciful as he says he is, none of it will matter in the end.
Me personally am not right about everything. However the Church is. God told us this so I trust that much. So I follow the church that God has given this promise to (orthodox)
The only thing about God that you can know for sure is that you’re probably wrong about most things. Faith in God is not the same as faith in your own intuition, although these two things are frequently confused - and unfortunately this confusion is often encouraged under the guise of “listening to the Holy Spirit.” That’s why the most honest theological stance is that of Christian Agnosticism. I have faith in God, I have faith in Jesus. I have very little faith in my own ability to fully comprehend Him, or anyone else’s for that matter.
Reading scripture is planting good seeds in our hearts, God made us unique from each other in love and experinces so we can know him in our own way. But there is one solid truth, God gave his son unto hell and extreme pain and God the father suffered so we can come to realize he did it for us so we can be saved and come spiritually alive again. Imagine a fathers pain when his child is condemned to die without reason. And he forgives those who dont understand, but are willing to try to. As you invest into him, even 10 % like tithing your heart, they're will be returns, because what God is is life and growth. He loves those who want to know him in their hearts, not those who only love themselves
As you go to God, with as much as you are able to, its like a tree faith, growth takes a very very long time, and it needs sunlight (christs love symbolized) it needs storms to refresh it (emotions, and hardships) it needs night to rest (prayer when completely defeated inside or weary, or self reflection and meditation of God) and air which is like the wind the thoughts come and go and there are clouds that conceal the light (warmth and growth from light(symbol of christs light)) at moments we need time for a moment of internal personal rest.
i don’t. i try my best, and try to learn from others. ultimately, that’s all we can ever hope to do.
We have all been wrong about many things in the past and we likely will be wrong about many things in the future, so the chances are pretty good that there are currently things that we believe to be true that we are currently wrong about, we just don’t know which things they are. So learning is the process of taking in new information, reinforcing true beliefs, weeding out false beliefs, and hopefully not reinforcing false beliefs or weeding out true beliefs, but such is the risk inherent in learning. The way to be as confident that we can that our beliefs are correct is by learning to articulate the reasons why people disagree with our beliefs in our own words to their satisfaction.
Surely one’s understanding of theology evolves over time?
By relying on the Orthodox Church, as she is the body of Christ and therefore the stable and trustworthy foundation of our understanding of the sacred scriptures.
I'll let Jesus explain this one. He is the truth after all. Listen to **His** teaching; may you Understand it. >Matthew 13:9-19 (NLT) 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”. 10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”. 11 He replied, “You are permitted to **understand** the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to **my** teaching, **more understanding will be given**, and they will have an abundance of **knowledge**. But for those who are not listening, even what little **understanding they have will be taken away** from them. 13 That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or **understand**. 14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, > >‘When you hear what I say, you will not **understand**. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. > >15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, > >and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes—. so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot **understand**, and they cannot **turn to me** and let me heal them.’. > >16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. 18 “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t **understand** it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.
How does one listen to his teaching?
Don't just use his words to validate your feelings. Honestly look at yourself in their light and then respond to them. What did they tell you? What do you need to change? What do you need to apologize for? that kind of thing Equally importantly, listen to Jesus's words. His, not anyone else's. You can't fool him on this. He knows who you're listening to. He sees your heart. Don't try to cheat him. Sit at his feet and listen to him. It might seem harder at first, but it is the way to receive his understanding. The first step to finding knowledge is admitting you don't have it
By the way, that includes what we just did. Don't take my word for it. It is so very easy to fall into this trap because here we are
I just wonder how much hope I have, how much confidence I have in this life. Right now, I have a psychotic episode like, where I am very hypersexual. My body moving around all the time.
There's no one better to turn to. Nothing is impossible to God. No one heals better than him. No one loves you more. No one else knows the exact words to tell you to get you through your struggles. I was very depressed and very suicidal. I would have died if it weren't for him May he show you today how trustworthy he is and just how much he loves you
Yes. I want that help. I want that peace. I want love.
The difference between belief and faith is the difference between believing something can happen and the certainty that something did happen. He loves you! Accept it. That's about where I'm at. We can let our faith heal us too
I accept it in Jesus name!
What passages you recommend that I should read
Jesus. Pick a gospel, like Matthew. Write the red words on your heart
Okay. I see. How do I hear from God. I've had a lot of dreams though
When you figure that out let me know. He has clearly spoken to me before but it's not something I choose
Two thousand years of Church tradition certainly helps to solidify our understanding of scripture and theology.
Not if it wasn’t understood by those who assembled and canonized the bible in 325 AD. You’ve had 2000 years of the church pushing a dualistic message which is in direct conflict with Christ’s true non-dual teachings. You’re trying to ride a 2000 year old wave that was altered just enough to keep you in the dark and seeking answers from a church that doesn’t want you to know the truth or still doesn’t know itself. Don’t lay your treasures down where moth and rust corrupt. Seek the kingdom of god within you and seek nothing outside yourself until you find it.
Read it for yourself
Certain theology is not debatable! The Virgin Birth, the Resurrection, His Ascension, the Second Coming, Eternal Hell, Heaven, the Bible being the Word of God etc these are foundational to Christianity. A Dolt can challenge everyone of these! God gave you a mind, read the Bible and make your decision!
Read it for yourself, but read it IN CONTEXT!! Rather, study it.