Intellectualism

[Whyme]

3 minutes ago, enoob57 said:

Mind and reason cannot be dismissed from anything...
1 Cor 2:16

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
KJV
 

Rom 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
KJV
 

 

Yes but only a spiritual person can discern Gods truth. To be spiritual one must be humble like a child. Intellect is not against God necessarily, but its not the way. Gods way is more simple, humble. 

Matthew 23:10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be [a]humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

 

[Hopefully]

“Timothy, God has trusted you with many things. Keep these things safe. Stay away from people who talk about useless things that are not from God and who argue against you with a “knowledge” that is not knowledge at all. Some people who claim to have that “knowledge” have gone completely away from what we believe. God’s grace be with you all.”
‭‭1 Timothy‬ ‭6:20-21‬ ‭

[Whyme]

Looks at how humble this woman's faith was. 

 

Matthew 15:21 Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting [j]at us!” 24 But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 But she came and began [k]to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 Yet He answered and said, “It is not [l]good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed [m]at once.

[Heleadethme]

7 hours ago, DDisconnect said:

Nope. I think it might work best to think of it in a philosophical way. Like... Love. Joe, a simple man, isn't maybe the most thoughtful guy. Not a bad guy, he just occupies himself with other things. But then even so, not being a philosopher, he has a grasp on what love is and/or isn't. But then one day he asks "what is love?" And so he does a bunch of reading and thinking to arrive at a more complex, in-depth answer that's really not that different than how he perceived it to begin with. 

God is good and salvation lies through him. You could put scripture in a far more complex way, there's more to understand there - but it's the same basic idea throughout, you know?

Our minds tend to want to dissect everything into little pieces, whereas truth is mean to be apprehended as a whole and is often greater than the sum of its parts, so to speak.  Jesus spoke in parables so we could see/grasp the picture He wanted to convey as a whole.

It's more about the heart than the mind anyhow.  The heart/spirit can grasp something long before the mind catches up.

[Whyme]

14 minutes ago, Heleadethme said:

Our minds tend to want to dissect everything into little pieces, whereas truth is mean to be apprehended as a whole and is often greater than the sum of its parts, so to speak.  Jesus spoke in parables so we could see/grasp the picture He wanted to convey as a whole.

It's more about the heart than the mind anyhow.  The heart/spirit can grasp something long before the mind catches up.

Yes, we need a humble heart, and at times contrite. There is a blessed simplicity found in Christ i think.  Just following the Lord.

[Heleadethme]

28 minutes ago, enoob57 said:

Mind and reason cannot be dismissed from anything...
1 Cor 2:16

16 For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
KJV
 

Rom 12:2

2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
KJV
 

 

Not dismissed exactly.....but we are to be sanctified vessels for the Lord, and that means He can make use of sanctified minds too as being part of the vessel.  And if we are reckoning our old man dead and crucified with Christ then we wont' be relying on our own fleshly mind, but on the Lord, who then may operate through one's vessel as He wills, by His Spirit.  And that way too He is the one being glorified, not the man.  Minds renewed according to His Spirit and illuminated by Him.....spiritual minds now, not fleshly.  The mind of Christ is a spiritual mind.   The fleshly mind can't perceive or obey the things of the Spirit, but the spiritual mind being illuminated by the Spirit can.  Every thought must be brought into captivity to the word of God, the truth.  Slaves of righteousness we are to be.  Imaginations likewise need to be sanctified.

So to me that is crux of this, what we are relying on, ourselves and our own minds, or on the Lord.....the more we die to ourselves the more we rely on the Lord, as we learn the insufficiency of ourselves by ourselves.  That's how we become as little children...looking to the Father for everything.  Jesus learned obedience by the things He suffered and was made perfect through His death.....that is the narrow way of the cross that we are to walk on as well, carrying our cross and denying self.

[johnthebaptist]

13 hours ago, Whyme said:

Does one need to be an intellectual to understand Gods word? Thank you.

No. All you have to do to understand God's word is to do what God tells you to do. Then it becomes clear. Many intellectuals don't do that and are lost.

[Who me]

One of the amazing things about Christianity is that little children can understand it and intellectuals can think and study it as not come to an end of learning about God.

As Christianity is based upon historical fact we do not have to be afraid of anyone examing Christianity.

Many people have set out to disprove it like Lee Strobes and James Warner Wallace but have ended up proving it is true.

 

What we do have to avoid is the anti intellectualism sometimes found in churches.

[missmuffet]

16 hours ago, Whyme said:

Does one need to be an intellectual to understand Gods word? Thank you.

God's Holy Word is perfectly clear. The problem with understanding the Bible is that many want to give the Words of the Bible their own meaning. Not the meaning for which it was originally intended. 

[Riverwalker]

It is the foolish man who relies on his own understanding

Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

 

Romans 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

Edited May 6, 2021 by Riverwalker